Ivory Coast U23 lost 2-1 in Kenya on Wednesday in Nairobi, in the first leg of the second round of the 2027 U23 AFCON qualifiers. Christ Tapé, captain and Toulouse midfielder, was sent off. The return leg will be played on 17 November in Abidjan.
On Wednesday 11 November, at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, Ivory Coast U23 lost 2-1 to Kenya U23 in the first leg of the second round of the qualifiers for the U23 AFCON Egypt 2027, reports Koaci. The Elephants U23 therefore go into the return leg a goal down.
Trailing from the 65th minute, coach Sébastien Bannier’s men equalised through substitute Oumar Konate, before conceding a second time late in the match. They also finished the game with ten men, captain Christ Tapé having been sent off for a second yellow card, according to Koaci.
Odhiambo makes the difference
The first half ended goalless, according to Ghanamma. It took until the 65th minute to see Henry Omollo open the scoring for Kenya, from a Lawrence Okoth pass.
The hosts’ lead lasted only seven minutes: brought on as a substitute, Oumar Konate equalised in the 72nd minute with an acrobatic finish. But in the 83rd minute, Andreas Odhiambo scored the winning goal after a slalom through the Ivorian defence, reports The Star Kenya.
A squad built around Europe
Exempt from the first round, Ivory Coast were playing their first match of these qualifiers. They fielded several players based in Europe, including Jocelin Ta Bi (Sunderland) and Christ Tapé (Toulouse), Ghanamma points out.
On the Kenyan side, coach Anthony Kimani praised his group’s resilience: “I am proud of the boys because they never surrendered, even when Cote d’Ivoire put us under pressure. We knew this would be a difficult examination of our quality.”, he told The Star Kenya.
His Ivorian counterpart, Sébastien Bannier, acknowledged the threat from the opposition: “We came here knowing Kenya were dangerous going forward. We had prepared for their pace, but we should have managed the mo…”, he told the same outlet.
It will all be decided in Abidjan
The return leg is scheduled for Tuesday 17 November 2026 at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan-Plateau, with kick-off at 19:00 GMT, according to Koaci. The Elephants U23 will need to make up that one-goal deficit in front of their own fans.
The U23 AFCON will be held in Egypt in November 2027, Koaci points out.