Stallions look to charge into last 16

Boureima Hassane Bande of Burkina Faso celebrates scoring the opening goal during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Afcon Finals football match between Cape Verde and Burkina Faso at Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon on 13 January 2022 ©Alain Guy Suffo/BackpagePix

by Graeme Jackson

Sunday Jan 16, 2022. 10:00

Burkina Faso will look to seal a place in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations when they wrap up their Group A campaign with a clash against Ethiopia at the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam on Monday 17 January 2022, kick-off at 18:00 CAT.

Burkina Faso have their fate very much in their own hands: a win will either see them finish in the top two of the group, and therefore secure automatic qualification to the next round, or be a third-place finisher with six points to their name, which would almost certainly be enough for progression.

2021 AFCON GROUP STANDINGS

The Stallions have recorded a 1-0 loss to Cameroon and 1-0 win over Cape Verde (courtesy of a goal from Hassan Bande), and will be looking to close out the group stage with an emphatic performance against the East Africans.

“[Our goal] of course [[is] to go as far as possible, we have a match that is approaching, which is very important [against Ethiopia], we will try to win the match to ensure qualification,” said Bande.

Ethiopia, meanwhile, still have a shot at advancing despite back-to-back losses to Cape Verde (0-1) and Cameroon (1-4) in the opening week of the tournament: they must win (and do so handsomely, due to their battered goal difference), but the Walia Ibex have a slim shot at either finishing second or in third place – and their potential qualification would then depend on the ranking of all third-place teams across the six groups, with the top four advancing.

“We are learning in the big competitions. Experience has made the difference between us and the Cameroon team. Each match has its characteristics. The matches are different but we try to show our abilities and play good football,” said Ethiopia coach Wubetu Abate.

2021 AFCON FIXTURES & RESULTS

In head-to-head stats, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia have met in three matches across all competitions since their first clash back in 2000. The Stallions have claimed two wins compared to one for the Walia Ibex.

The teams last met in the group stage of the 2013 AFCON in South Africa, with Burkina Faso winning 4-0 thanks to goals from Alain Traore (two), Djakaridja Kone and Jonathan Pitroipa.

The other Group A match in this round sees Cape Verde face tournament hosts Cameroon, which will be played simultaneously at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.