In Yaounde

Burkina Faso play Senegal in the first semi-final fixture of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde Wednesday from 10pm (Kenyan time).

The two west African countries are seeking their maiden Afcon titles.

The Stallions of Burkina Faso came closer to a first continental crown when they reached the final in 2013 but fell 1-0 to Super Eagles of Nigeria. Meanwhile, the Teranga Lions inched close to a maiden continental title when they reached their second final in the previous edition but fell to Algeria.

Aliou Cisse’s Senegal were unimpressive at the start of the tournament in Cameroon, with Sadio Mane and teammates scoring just a goal in the group stage.

They bounced back powerfully in the knock-out stage, scoring five in two matches. The Teranga Lions knocked out Cape Verde 2-0 in the round of 16 before dispatching Equatorial Guinea 3-1 in the quarter-finals.

For their part, Burkina Faso have been one of the surprises at the tournament, reaching the last four amid major challenges.

Coach Kamou Malo's men had threatened not to play the tournament’s curtain raiser game against hosts, Cameroon on January 9 after they were handicapped by Covid-19 test results which came out mostly positive before the tournament opener.

Burkinabe authorities suspected that the results were doctored as part of a scheme to favour the hosts when five players and coach Kamou Malo tested positive for Covid-19 in the run up to the game.

At a pre-match press conference in Yaounde on the eve of the match, assistant coach, Firmin Sanou and captain Bertrand Traore expressed frustrations over the Covid-19 test results, with Traore calling it “scandalous.” The Stallions however went on to play under protest and lost 2-1 to the hosts after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) rejected their appeal to have the tests redone.

That could have psychologically weakened them, but the Stallions bounced back powerfully to see off Cape Verde 1-0 in their second match, and drew 1-1 with Ethiopia to finish runners up in Group ‘A’ with four points.

The Stallions beat Gabon 7-6 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes in their round of 16 game in Limbe. The Burkinabes became the first team to qualify for quarter-finals with that victory.

But there was yet another challenge, this time back home. The military had staged a coup d’etat in Ouagadougou had ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. Yesterday, unconfirmed reports indicated that Burkina Faso’s minister of sports, who has been with the team in Cameroon, boarded the next available flight for France following news of the military takeover back home.

This again this not traumatise the Stallions who in another surprise outing, edged giants Tunisia 1-0 in Garoua to book their semi-final ticket, sending the Carthage Eagles back home.

The coach said at a post-match press conference that the team had dedicated the victory to the people of Burkina Faso who were going through tough times.

The victory, media reports hold, provided brief respite for Burkinabes back home and the team is hoping to continue the impressive run when they meet ECOWAS counterpart today, then move on to lift the trophy which could be a vector for the reconciliation of the troubled country.

In the past, team authorities banked on striker Aristide Bance to lift the Stallions. In Cameroon, team work rather than individual effort has lifted the side.