Ivory Coast defeat Nigeria in CAN warm-up

By AFP

Nigeria

JAN 11, 2015 LISTEN

Ivory Coast's Gervinho (C) vies for the ball against Nigeria's Negwuekwe Azubuike (R) during an international friendly football match in preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations on January 11, 2015 in Abu Dhabi. By (AFP)

Abu Dhabi (AFP) - The Ivory Coast defeated outgoing champions Nigeria 1-0 on Sunday in an Africa Cup of Nations warm-up in Abu Dhabi.

Former Chelsea and Lille striker Salomon Kalou grabbed the only goal of the match on 83 minutes following good buildup play from Cheick Tiote.

Coach Herve Renard suffered a blow when Saint-Etienne striker Max-Alain Gradel was taken off with an ankle injury with 30 minutes left.

The 'Elephants', who won their only African title in 1992 when they defeated Ghana 11-10 on penalties, continue their preparation with a friendly against Sweden in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Nigeria, who won their third Cup of Nations in 2013 when they defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 in South Africa, failed to qualify for this year's tournament.

The 2015 CAN gets underway on January 17 in Equatorial Guinea and runs until February 8 with Ivory Coast in Group D along with Guinea, Cameroon and Mali.