/world sport
LONDON, England -- Chelsea's Salomon Kalou hit a stunning strike which saw favorites Ivory Coast launch their African Nations Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Group B rivals Nigeria at Sekondi in Ghana.
Chelsea striker Kalou celebrates his stunning goal that gave Ivory Coast victory at the African Nations Cup.
The game needed a bit of magic to break the deadlock and Blues striker Kalou provided it on 66 minutes when he beat three Nigerian defenders before sending an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Austin Ejide.
Monday's game was a repeat of the 2006 semifinal which Ivory Coast won on Didier Drogba's lone second-half goal, but this time the marksman was upstaged by his Chelsea team-mate.
In a match with plenty of Premier League representation, it was the Super Eagles who had the first chance as Everton's Ayegbeni Yakubu picked out Nwankwo Kanu but the Portsmouth player sent his shot wide.
Nigeria had a decent penalty appeal turned down when Obafemi Martins was tripped by Steve Gohouri but the referee waved away the appeals -- and to add insult to injury booked the Newcastle forward for diving.
Arsenal defender Kolo Toure came close to giving his side the lead in the 59th minute when he latched on to Abdul Keita's corner before firing through a crowded penalty area, only for Ejide to pull off a good save.
However, Ejide could not do anything seven minutes later when Kalou produced his stunning strike.
Freddie Kanoute converted a 49th minute penalty to hand Mali a slender 1-0 victory in the group's second game although rivals Benin had their opponents hanging on in the desperate final stages.
"It was quite tough. The weather was warm and the pitch heavy," said Kanoute who believes his side can go on and qualify from their section.
Soufiane Alloudi scored three goals in the opening half-hour to lead Morocco to a 5-1 win over Namibia in Monday's opening clash involving Group A.
He opened the scoring after two minutes and added a second three minutes, Brian Brendell replying for Namibia on 23 before Alloudi completed his hat-trick five minutes later.
Tarik Sektioui added a fourth from the penalty spot for Morocco in the 39th minute after Michael Basser was fouled, and substitute Monsef Zerka headed in a corner in the 73rd.
The Atlas Lions join Ghana at the top of their group with three points, but Morocco has a better goal difference after the Black Stars beat Guinea 2-1 on Sunday. E-mail to a friend 
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