Ivory Coast marked their return to the grand stage with a convincing victory over Burkina Faso, winning 4-1 in their group B opening game.
The game played at Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Monday night saw the Lady Elephants cruise to a comfortable win in the West African derby.
Ines Konan led the charge for Ivory Coast, scoring a brace while Rebecca Elloh and Nsira Ouedraogo added a goal each.
Adama Congo got the consolation for Burkina Faso midway through the second half.
It took only seven minutes for Ivory Coast to announce their presence with Elloh converting from the spot.
The early lead gave confidence to the Lady Elephants who doubled their lead seven minutes later through Konan before she struck again in the 23rd minute.
Burkina Faso pulled one back immediately after the break through Congo but this only settled for a consolation.
Ivory Coast who were too good on the day eventually got one more goal with Ouedraogo putting in the icing on the cake in the 56th minute.
The two teams will return to action on Monday with Ivory Coast facing South Africa who lost 2-1 to Tanzania. On the other hand, Burkina Faso will be up Tanzania.
