African champions Ivory Coast held to draw by Benin

Updated: Mar 23, 2024, 02:48 pm

Oumar Diakite scored a second-half equaliser to spare the blushes 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.

It was a first game for coach Emerse Fae since his side lifted the Cup of Nations title on home soil last month, but they had to come behind twice to draw after a lacklustre performance.

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Benin midfielder Junior Olaitan opened the scoring before winger Max Gradel equalised just before the half-hour mark. Olaitan's second goal put Benin on course for victory before Diakite equalised again after 69 minutes.

Ivory Coast play Uruguay in a friendly in Lens on Tuesday, another opportunity to build towards the resumption of 2026 African World Cup qualifiers in June.