African Nations Cup favourites Ivory Coast were held to a goalless draw by a stubborn Burkina Faso in their opening Group B match at the Estadio do Cabinda on Monday evening while Malawi stunned Algeria with a 3-0 win in Group A.
Vahid Halilhodzic's Ivory Coast team dominated possession but could not find the cutting edge to break down a determined Burkinabe defence despite an impressive frontline of Didier Drogba, Bakari Kone and Gervinho.
The players observed a minute's silence prior to kick-off in memory of the three people killed in Friday's gun attack on the Togo team bus in the Angolan enclave of Cabinda.
Malawi stunned Malawi at a near-deserted November 11 stadium as the unpredictable start to the African Nations Cup continued.
Algeria began the match as clear favourites, but were 2-0 down by half-time thanks to goals from Russel Mwafulirwa and Elvis Kafoteka.
Dave Banda added a third after 49 minutes to end any thoughts of an Algeria comeback.
Source: PA
