Burkina Faso vs Senegal: Stallions battle Teranga Lions for Afcon final ticket
Both teams are eyeing their first Afcon title
After three days of break, action is back in the Africa Cup of Nations as games in the semi-final stage are set to be decided.
The first of the two semi-final contest pitches Burkina Faso and Senegal against each other in what has been dubbed the West-African Derby.
Dreaming of their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title, The Stallions and Teranga Lions will first have to do enough to make it in for the 6 February much-awaited Grand Final.
Burkina Faso – Writing history
The Stallions of Burkina Faso have impressed since the start of the competition with a fluid, offensive and forward-looking game.
The Burkinabe finished third in their last appearance in Gabon 2017. After missing the last edition in Egypt, they are now eyeing to better their best AFCON record when they finished as losing finalists in 2013.
“The match against Senegal will be like a final. We will play all our assets to go to the final and seek the crown,” said goalkeeper Hervé Koffi, one of the team’s best performers in Cameroon so far.
Kamou Malo, coach of Burkina Faso during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Afcon Finals football Burkina Faso Press Conference at Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon on 12 January 2022
Senegal – Targeting back-to-back finals
Coach Aliou Cissé and his side reached the AFCON semifinals for the second time in a row. Finishing as runners-up in Egypt 2019, Senegal are eyeing a title that eluded them for a long time.
The Teranga Lions timidly started the competition in Cameroon but have been fueling better and better since the Round of 16. "We have recovered our players little by little, we are right in it," says the Senegalese coach, a former Paris Saint Germain player.
Sadio Mane's teammates are dreaming of a place in the final, and nothing but the title they narrowly missed twice, finishing as losing finalists in 2002 and 2019.
