Senegal eyeing only their fourth victory over Burkina Faso

by Staff Reporter

Thursday Sep 05, 2024. 14:38

Senegal will begin the journey to reclaim their crown when Burkina Faso arrive at the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium for their opening match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Friday, September 6.

Kick-off is at 9pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

The Lions of Teranga were favourites to defend their title at AFCON 2023 and they made an impressive start after topping Group C with a perfect record, scoring eight goals and conceding just one in the process.

But Aliou Cisse’s side encountered a reinvigorated Ivory Coast in the round of 16 and cruelly lost on penalties after the hosts were awarded a controversial spot-kick late in the second half which they converted to force extra time.

The 2021 AFCON champions are unbeaten in their last four outings, claiming victories over Gabon (3-0) and Benin (1-0) in the March friendlies before picking up four points from June’s 2025 World Cup qualifiers.

Senegal were held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo in Diamniadio, although they returned to winning ways after edging Mauritania 1-0 in Nouakchott.

Burkina Faso also fell at the second hurdle in Ivory Coast as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Mali in the round of 16, having finished runners-up to Angola in Group D.

The Stallions haven’t won any of their last seven games since beating Mauritania 1-0 in the group stages and they lost 2-1 to Egypt before playing out to a 2-2 draw with Sierra Leone in the June qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.