The Sierra Leone National Team, the Leone Stars, suffered a disappointing 4-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier match on Friday.

The match took place at the Stade de Laurent Pokou Stadium in Abidjan.

Ivory Coast opened the scoring early in the third minute through Nicolas Pepe.

The host had a chance to equalize in the 43rd minute with Alhassan Koroma finding the net.

Prior before then, Franck Kessie’s spot-kick for the Elephants was saved.

However, Kessie redeemed himself by scoring twice in the second half, netting in the 51st and 75th minutes to seal the victory for Ivory Coast.

The vvisitors conceeded another penalty in the 87th minute which Oumar Diakite did not fail to convert.

The Leone Stars will now have to regroup for the return fixture, which is scheduled for October 15th at the SKD Sports Complex in Liberia.

A win in that match is crucial for their hopes of qualifying for the 2025 AFCON tournament.