Oumar Diakite scored a second-half equaliser to spare the blushes of newly-crowned African champions Ivory Coast who were held to a 2-2 draw by Benin in a friendly in Amiens, France on Saturday.

It was a first game for coach Emerse Fae since his side lifted the Cup of Nations title on home soil last month, but they had to come behind twice to draw after a lacklustre performance.