Kessie gives Ivory Coast a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia

By: The Associated Press Posted: 6:03 AM CDT Thursday, Jul. 22, 2021 Last Modified: 6:07 AM CDT Thursday, Jul. 22, 2021

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YOKOHAMA, Japan - Franck Kessie scored the go-ahead goal in the 66th minute and Ivory Coast beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 Thursday in its opening match in the men's Olympic soccer tournament.

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YOKOHAMA, Japan - Franck Kessie scored the go-ahead goal in the 66th minute and Ivory Coast beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 Thursday in its opening match in the men's Olympic soccer tournament.

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This article was published 22/07/2021 (1891 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

YOKOHAMA, Japan – Franck Kessie scored the go-ahead goal in the 66th minute and Ivory Coast beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 Thursday in its opening match in the men’s Olympic soccer tournament.

Ivory Coast was making its first Olympic appearance since the 2008 Beijing Games, when the team advanced to the knockout stage. Saudi Arabia hasn’t been to an Olympics in soccer since 1996.

Ivory Coast went ahead 1-0 late in the first half after an own-goal from defender Abdulelah Alamri, but Saudi Arabia rebounded when Salem Aldawsari scored in the 44th minute.

Saudi Arabia's Ali Alhassan, left battles for the ball with Ivory Coast's Max Gradel during a men's soccer match at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Sapporo, Japan. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Kessie, who plays for AC Milan, scored off a pass from Manchester United forward Amad Diallo.

The two teams are in a tough group at the Olympics with Brazil, the gold medallists from the 2016 Games, and Germany, the silver medallists who lost to the Brazilians on penalties at the Maracana Stadium.