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Ivory Coast were forced to dig deep to secure a 1-0 victory over Gabon in the 2026 World Cup qualifier played at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo.
The Elephants have now opened up a three-point lead at the top of Group F while the Panthers remain second.
AFCON winner Ivory Coast will be keen to maintain their perfect record in the group by securing a victory away to Kenya next week and Gabon will be keen to return to winning ways when they host Gambia.
Franck Kessie set up Seko Fokana who made no mistake as he beat goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba to hand the hosts the lead â- much to the delight of the home crowd.
Gabon struggled to create chances after the restart and coach Thierry Mouyouma decided to introduce attacking midfielder David Sambissa as the Panthers searched for the equalising goal with 67 minutes played.
Both teams launched attacks in the latter stages of the encounter as the Elephants looked to kill off the match with a goal while the Panthers looked to snatch a late equalising goal.
However, the goal never came and the match ended in a 1-0 win in favour of Ivory Coast.
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