Amad Diallo starred as defending champions Ivory Coast cruised past Burkina Faso and into the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco.
The Manchester United winger put the Elephants ahead in the 20th minute when he bustled past a couple of defenders and sent a dinked finish past goalkeeper Herve Koffi from close range.
Twelve minutes later Amad laid on the second for Yan Diomande, who sent a curling finish past the wrongfooted Koffi from just inside the area.
Dango Ouattara came close to pulling one back for the Stallions before the break, but his right-footed effort from a narrow angle hit the base of the left-hand upright and rebounded into the arms of Ivorian keeper Yahia Fofana.
Fofana then made a smart reaction save with his right boot to once again deny Brentford forward Ouattara just after the hour mark, while Amad was denied his second by a similarly fine stop by Koffi.
In the end it was teenager Bazoumana Toure who grabbed the third late on with a fine solo goal, racing forward from midway inside his own half and beating Koffi inside the left-hand upright with a clinical finish.
Emerse Fae’s men will now face record seven-time champions Egypt, who beat Benin 3-1 after extra time on Monday, in a heavyweight last-eight clash in Agadir on Saturday (19:00 GMT).
Late drama and comebacks were in regular supply as Ivory Coast clinched their third Afcon title on home soil at the 2023 edition, and they only topped their group in Morocco after netting a stoppage-time goal to secure a 3-2 comeback win against Gabon.
But the Elephants started with intent in Marrakesh and Amad had already curled wide from a free-kick and flashed another effort across goal before he broke the deadlock after picking up a loose ball just inside the box on the right.
Diomande’s finish underlined their dominance, while the forward had a shot blocked and right-back Guela Doue headed a corner wide at the near post before half-time as the Ivorians looked to add to their lead.
Stallions coach Brama Traore made several changes in a bid to get back into the game, including throwing on captain Bertrand Traore, but Ouattara’s low effort was as close as the Burkinabe came to pulling a goal back.
Amad should have made it 3-0 with 14 minutes remaining but Koffi stuck out his left leg to make a fine save which saw the ball divert from almost ground level to clip off the bar and over.
Toure had completed the turnaround against Gabon and the Hoffenheim youngster climbed off the bench to get in on the act once more, with his effort celebrated gleefully by Fae on the touchline.
The Ivorians, who boast a wealth of attacking talent even without Simon Adingra and Sebastien Haller in their squad, become the first holders to reach the quarter-final stage at an Afcon since Egypt in 2010.
The North Africans were the last side to retain the trophy when completing their hat-trick of titles 16 years ago, and Mohamed Salah and company will aim to end the Elephants’ reign when they meet in a mouth-watering tie on Saturday.
