Ivory Coast women hit four past Burkina Faso to seize control of CAN 2026 group

Ivory Coast made a commanding start to their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 campaign with a 4-1 win over Burkina Faso in Casablanca, putting Reynald Pedros’ side within one victory of the quarter-finals.

Playing at Stade Larbi Zaouli on Monday, the Ivorians took charge of Group B thanks to a ruthless first-half display and a brace from Ines Konan, while Burkina Faso’s Etalons Dames were left needing a reaction in their next match to stay alive in the tournament.

Burkina Faso threatened first in only the second minute, when Naomi Adele Kabre held off her marker before being denied by goalkeeper Aramatou Diakite. But Ivory Coast responded immediately and decisively.

From a left-sided corner, Madina Traore handled the ball at the near post, leaving the referee with little choice but to award a penalty. Rebecca Elloh converted from the spot in the seventh minute to open the scoring.

Burkina Faso almost hit back straight away. Two minutes after the opener, Madinatou Rouamba met a free-kick from the left with a header that flew just wide of Diakite’s right-hand post. Ivory Coast, however, were far more clinical.

On 14 minutes, Konan doubled the advantage. The Strasbourg forward latched onto a low cut-back from Rosemonde Kouassi coming in from the right and fired her shot under the crossbar, leaving Faoziatou Ouedraogo with no chance.

Ivory Coast continued to press and went close again in the 19th and 22nd minutes before punishing another defensive lapse. Safi N’Sira delivered a cross from the right and Konan arrived to glance home a header, claiming her second goal and stretching the lead to 3-0.

Burkina Faso refused to sit back despite the scoreline and tried to impose themselves in attack, creating several promising situations but consistently lacking precision with the final effort.

Around the half-hour mark, N’Sira almost added a fourth. Released by a lofted ball over the defence, she rounded F. Ouedraogo with ease but failed to finish, first being stopped by the last Burkinabe defender, then shooting wide of the goalkeeper’s left post in the 31st minute.

VAR drama and a red card that stood

Ivory Coast’s control was nearly disrupted in the 38th minute. Adama Congo accelerated into space and appeared to be through on goal when she was brought down by Mariam Diakite. The Ivorian defender was initially shown a straight red card, only for the decision to be overturned after a video assistant referee review.

After half-time, however, Burkina Faso did lose a player. In the 55th minute, F. Ouedraogo clattered into N’Sira as the Ivorian forward surged forward at pace outside the penalty area. This time, the referee produced a red card without needing VAR.

N’Sira stepped up to take the resulting free-kick and powered an unstoppable strike into the top corner past substitute goalkeeper Nina Dabilgou, extending Ivory Coast’s advantage to 4-0.

Burkina Faso respond but face early exit risk

Despite being a player down and four goals behind, Burkina Faso maintained their effort and were eventually rewarded with a consolation goal on the hour mark. Adama Congo darted to the near post to meet a low cut-back from the left and finished neatly to make it 4-1.

The match then settled into a slower rhythm, with Ivory Coast content to manage their lead rather than chase further goals, even with their numerical superiority.

The result lifts Ivory Coast to the top of Group B after the earlier outings of Algeria, Morocco and Tanzania, and leaves Pedros’ team needing just one more victory to be sure of a quarter-final place.

Their next assignment comes on Friday against South Africa, where a win would seal progression to the last eight. Burkina Faso, meanwhile, must beat Tanzania to avoid a premature elimination in the group stage.