Didier Drogba's talismanic qualities helped Ivory Coast make a winning, if not impressive, start to the African Nations Cup finals as he scored the only goal against a stubborn Sudan. With Angola, who beat Burkina Faso 2-1 in Sunday's other match in Malabo.
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Drogba extended his scoring streak at the Nations Cup to a fourth successive tournament
The Ivorians, heavily favoured to take the continental title at the tournament co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, share the early lead in Group B, and took his overall tally to eight, with a 38th-minute header to leave Sudan empty-handed.
The Chelsea player was quick to admit the nature of the Ivorian triumph against a side ranked more than 100 places below them was anything but impressive.
"I'm just very happy we got the points," said the 33-year-old, whose role in the Ivorians' failure in the three previous tournaments to live up to their favourites tag has been extensively highlighted in the build-up to the latest edition.
"We did some things well and some things not so well, but the main thing was that we won the match."
On Monday, the newly-built stadium in Libreville is expected to be at its 45,000 capacity when co-hosts Gabon open their campaign against debutants Niger.
The first Group C match will be followed straight away by a mouth watering clash between Morocco and Tunisia, two past winners seeking to restore former glories.
