- Sunday January 23, 2022
- Limbe stadium, Limbe 7pm (EAT)
After both finishing second in their respective groups, Burkina Faso and Gabon face off at Limbe with a place in the last eight of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2021 at stake.
Burkina Faso lost their opener to hosts Cameroon 2-1 despite taking the lead before beating Cape Verde 1-0 and drawing 1-1 with Ethiopia to finish on four points in Group A.
Gabon beat debutants Comoros 1-0 before forcing draws against giants Ghana (1-1) and Morocco (2-2) to finish second as well as five points.
Coach Kamou will hope his youngsters Bertrand Traoré, Abdoul Fessal Tapsoba and his experienced defender Issoufou Dayo while Patrice Neveu has hopes in the likes of Denis Bouanga, Jim Allevinah and his new captain Ecuele Manga.
What they said
Kamou Malo (Coach, Burkina Faso)
The first objective was to qualify from the group. The team is gaining momentum as it improves. It’s true that we beat Gabon in a friendly, but the context has changed. We respect Gabon, and we are going to have a serious match. We will play to win. It is a personal challenge to succeed in this AFCON, we represent African expertise, African coaches.
Patrice Neveu (Coach, Gabon)
We encountered many problems, but we managed and coped with them. We are aware of the importance of this match. We lost our last match against Burkina Faso. We have drawn conclusions, and we know that Burkina has a good team. We have managed to win back our audience, and we want more than that, as we know we can pass this stage. We have to take our opportunities. The players are focused, and we will be more physically and mentally ready.
Key Stat
Burkina Faso won the last meeting with Gabon 3-0 in a friendly match before the tournament kicked off.