Alynho Haidar puts up stellar performance as Cote d’Ivoire cruise past CAR
The goals continue to come in thick and fast at the ongoing TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Following South Africa and Egypt’s seven goal thriller on Monday, Group D followed suite on Tuesday evening as Cote d’Ivoire put six past Central African Republic, who responded with a solitary goal in a commanding 6-1 victory for Cote d’Ivoire.
Alynho Haider was the star of the show on Tuesday, with the youngster finding the back of the net an impressive four times for a Man of the Match deserving performance.
The former champions, who are looking at following in the footsteps of their seniors who lifted Africa’s most prized possession last year wasted no time in getting ahead, with Haidara opening the scoring in the 4thminute.
Haidara was back on the goalscoring charts again in the 13th minute to secure a the two-goal cushion, which was followed by a hat-trick in the 41st minute.
Central African Republic did pull one back just before the closing stages of the first half, with Anan Otto finding his first of the tournament in the 45th minute.
Returning from the break, the former champions continued from where they left off, with Haidara capping an exceptional evening with a fourth goal in the 55th minute.
Mobio Franck along with Yannis Touali’s late strike were the other two goals from the former champions to cap off an impressive performance to their opening match of the title chase.
The commanding victory sees Cote d’Ivoire top Group D, while Mali who edged Angola in the earlier tie occupy second spot ahead of Angola and bottom placed Central Africa Republic.
The TotalEnergies CAF U-17 AFCON continues on Wednesday with quality African youth football to be on display.