(Reuters) – Oumar Diakite scored a second-half equaliser to save the honors of newly-crowned African champions Ivory Coast who were held to a 2-2 draw by Benin in a friendly in Amiens, France on Saturday.
The match marked the first game for coach Emerse Fae after his team’s victory in the Cup of Nations last month. Despite their recent success, Ivory Coast struggled and had to come from behind twice to secure a draw.
Benin midfielder Junior Olaitan opened the scoring, but Ivory Coast’s winger Max Gradel equalised just before the half-hour mark. Olaitan then put Benin ahead again, only for Diakite to level the score after 69 minutes.
Next up for Ivory Coast is a friendly against Uruguay in Lens on Tuesday, providing another opportunity to prepare for the upcoming 2026 African World Cup qualifiers set to resume in June.
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)
