Côte d’Ivoire marked their return to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after a 12-year absence in emphatic fashion, crushing Burkina Faso 4-1 in their Group B opener at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Monday night.

The Lady Elephants delivered a devastating first-half performance, scoring three times inside the opening 23 minutes to take command of the West African derby before completing the job after the interval.

Rebecca Elloh set the tone by converting a seventh-minute penalty before Ines Konan struck twice as Reynald Pedros’ side raced into a 3-0 lead.

Konan got her first in the 14th minute following good work by Rosemonde Kouassi and struck again nine minutes later from Nsira Ouedraogo’s assist.

For a Côte d’Ivoire side appearing at the continental finals for the first time since 2014, it was a dream opening.

Burkina Faso, making only their second WAFCON appearance, emerged from the interval with greater purpose and were rewarded almost immediately.

Adama Congo pulled one back in the 46th minute after being set up by Balkissa Sawadogo, briefly raising hopes of an unlikely comeback for the Lady Stallions.

But the Ivorians quickly extinguished those hopes.

Ouedraogo, who had already provided an assist, added Côte d’Ivoire’s fourth goal in the 56th minute to restore the three-goal advantage and put the contest beyond Burkina Faso.

It completed an impressive night for the Lady Elephants, whose combination of pace, movement and clinical finishing proved too much for their neighbours.

The result also underlined the impact of Côte d’Ivoire’s preparations under Pedros, with the team having arrived early in Morocco for a pre-tournament training camp.

Experienced campaigner Elloh provided composure, Konan supplied the goals, and Ouedraogo capped an influential performance with a goal and an assist.

Captain Bernadette Amani Kakounan had spoken before the encounter about the emotion of hearing the Ivorian national anthem again at WAFCON after such a long absence. The Lady Elephants matched that emotion with a performance full of purpose.

For Burkina Faso, the heavy defeat leaves Issa Balbone’s team with work to do, although Congo’s early second-half strike offered a glimpse of the fighting spirit the coach had demanded before the tournament.

Côte d’Ivoire’s victory takes on added significance following Tanzania’s stunning 2-1 defeat of defending champions South Africa earlier on Monday.

Those two results have immediately thrown Group B wide open, with Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania making perfect starts while South Africa and Burkina Faso are left chasing points.

With the top two teams in the group advancing to the quarter-finals, the Lady Elephants have put themselves firmly in contention after a spectacular return to the WAFCON stage.

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Côte d’Ivoire will make their long-awaited return to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after a 12-year absence when they face West African rivals Burkina Faso in their opening Group B encounter at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Monday.

Kick-off is at 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT), with both teams seeking a positive start to their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 campaigns.

It will be the first meeting between Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso at the continental finals and brings together two sides returning to the competition after lengthy absences.

Côte d’Ivoire last appeared at WAFCON in 2014, when they enjoyed their best-ever campaign by finishing third, while Burkina Faso are back for only their second appearance after making their debut in 2022.

Côte d’Ivoire back after 12-year absence

The Ivorians made their WAFCON debut in 2012 and returned two years later, but have been absent from the finals ever since.

Their 2014 campaign remains the high point of their history in the competition. They reached the knockout phase and eventually defeated South Africa 1-0 in the third-place play-off.

That victory remains their most recent WAFCON match, meaning success against Burkina Faso would give Côte d’Ivoire consecutive victories at the tournament for the first time.

Their previous opening matches have also been packed with goals.

Côte d’Ivoire thrashed Ethiopia 5-0 in their tournament debut in 2012 before losing 4-2 to Nigeria in their opening fixture two years later. Those two matches produced 11 goals, seven of them scored by the Ivorians.

Indeed, Côte d’Ivoire have never failed to score in their eight previous WAFCON matches.

They have won three, lost five and drawn once, with their only stalemate being a 1-1 draw against Zambia in 2014.

Pedros renews acquaintance with Burkina Faso

There will also be a familiar figure on the Côte d’Ivoire bench.

Former Morocco coach Reynald Pedros took charge of the Ivorians in January 2025, replacing Clémentine Touré after her 13-year spell in charge.

Pedros guided Morocco to the WAFCON final in 2022, when the Atlas Lionesses finished runners-up.

His first match at that tournament was, significantly, against Burkina Faso. Morocco won 1-0 through a Ghizlane Chebbak goal before going on to top their group.

Pedros will now hope for another winning start against the Burkinabe, this time in charge of Côte d’Ivoire.

Burkina Faso chase historic first win

Burkina Faso, meanwhile, return to WAFCON after missing the previous edition and will be targeting their first victory at the finals.

They lost their opening two matches on their 2022 debut, both by 1-0 scorelines against Morocco and Senegal, before earning their first tournament point with a 2-2 draw against Uganda.

Adama Congo made history in that match by becoming Burkina Faso’s first WAFCON goalscorer.

The Burkinabe are yet to score first, lead a match or keep a clean sheet at the continental finals, statistics they will be eager to change in Casablanca.

They arrive in Morocco after an impressive qualifying campaign.

Burkina Faso defeated Burundi 5-1 on aggregate in the first qualifying round, with Naomie Kabré hitting a hat-trick in the 4-1 second-leg victory.

They then overcame Togo 3-0 on aggregate, winning 2-0 in the first leg through goals from Rihanatou Sawadogo and Adèle Kabré before Congo secured a 1-0 victory in the return fixture.

Pascal Sawadogo, who led Burkina Faso on their WAFCON debut in 2022, remains in charge and will now attempt to guide the country to a landmark first victory at the tournament.

For Côte d’Ivoire, Monday represents the resumption of a WAFCON journey interrupted for 12 years. For Burkina Faso, it offers another opportunity to achieve the victory that eluded them on their debut.

Only one of the West African rivals can make the perfect start in Casablanca.

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Ibtissam Jraidi struck twice as hosts Morocco launched their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 campaign in emphatic fashion, sweeping aside Kenya 4-0 at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat on Sunday.

Sakina Ouzraoui and Meriem Atiq were also on target for the Atlas Lionesses, who scored three times before half-time and added another immediately after the restart to underline their title ambitions.

The commanding victory sent Jorge Vilda’s side to the top of Group A on goal difference, ahead of Algeria, who earlier defeated Senegal 2-0.

For Kenya, returning to the continental finals after a decade-long absence, it was a difficult reintroduction to WAFCON against a Moroccan side seeking to go one better after finishing runners-up in the previous two editions.

Backed by their home supporters, Morocco took control from the outset, dominating possession and pressing Kenya aggressively whenever they lost the ball.

The Harambee Starlets initially kept their shape and frustrated the hosts, but their resistance was broken in the 20th minute when Ouzraoui found space and drove a low effort beyond the goalkeeper.

Eight minutes later, Morocco doubled their advantage.

Atiq rose highest to meet a corner and powered a header into the net as the pressure on Kenya intensified.

Jraidi then made it 3-0 before the interval, also finding the net with a header to leave the East Africans facing a daunting task.

The three-goal first-half burst effectively settled the contest and allowed Morocco to approach the second period firmly in control.

Kenya’s hopes of mounting a recovery disappeared within two minutes of the restart when Jraidi struck again to complete her brace and make it 4-0.

The double provided an impressive start to the tournament for the Moroccan forward and further demonstrated the attacking strength of a team chasing a maiden continental crown.

With the points virtually secured, Vilda made a series of substitutions, resting key players and giving others valuable tournament minutes.

Morocco remained in command, although the intensity dropped as Kenya concentrated on preventing further damage.

The result leaves Morocco and Algeria with three points apiece at the head of Group A, with the hosts occupying top spot courtesy of their superior goal difference.

Senegal are third and Kenya bottom after the opening round.

Morocco will next face Algeria in an early battle for control of the group, while Kenya meet Senegal with both sides seeking their first points.

The expanded 16-team WAFCON also provides a pathway to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The four semi-finalists will qualify directly for the global tournament, while two quarter-finalists will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Kenya coach Beldine Odemba admitted her team struggled in transition but insisted there was still time to recover.

“We didn’t have the desired control in the transition phases,” Odemba said. “We have two matches left against Senegal and Algeria; it’s up to us to correct our mistakes.”

Vilda was pleased with Morocco’s authoritative opening performance.

“It’s a good start,” the Morocco coach said. “When you start a tournament like this, it means you’ve had good preparation. I’m satisfied with what I saw from the team today.”

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