October 15, (THEWILL) – The Ivory Coast and Morocco played out a 1-1 draw in their international friendly at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan, on Saturday evening.
The home side took the lead late in the first half through Sebastian Haller, but the visitors equalised in the second period via Ayoub El Kaabi, to ensure the teams shared the spoils.
Ivory Coast looked the more threatening team in the first half, using the pace of Jonathan Bamba and Haller to stretch the Moroccan defence. Their pressure told in injury time when Bamba set up Haller, who provided a composed finish for 1-0.
The pattern continued after the break with Morocco dominating possession, but vulnerable on the counter attack. The Ivory Coast freshened their forward line with the introductions of Wilfried Zaha and Simon Adingra midway through the half.
However, Morocco levelled in the 81st minute when substitute, El Kaabi, pounced on a poor touch from Abakar Sylla to squeeze a shot past Yahia Fofana for 1-1. The Ivory Coast’s next match is against South Africa on Tuesday, October 17, in Abidjan. Morocco will play Liberia on the same day.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
