Today’s Fixture: Angola Goes Head to Head with Burkina Faso

African Cup of Nations will witness the conclusion of group-stage fixtures as Angola and Burkina Faso collide in a match at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium on Tuesday.

Both teams have already secured a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament and will now vie to top the group stage, aiming to face potentially easier opponents in the round of 16.

Angola, coming off a draw against Algeria in the opener, found their footing in the second round where they confronted group underdogs Mauritania.

The hard-fought victory against Mauritania, with doubles from Jelson Dala and a goal from Gilberto, granted Goncalves’ team three points despite conceding two goals.

This win marked Angola’s first victory since July 2023, providing a confidence boost heading into the final round in Group D.

Even in the scenario of a loss to Burkina Faso, the ‘Black Antelopes’ stand a good chance of advancing to the knockout stage, either in second place or possibly as one of the best third-placed teams.

However, the team is eager to prolong their stay in the tournament as they have not progressed from the group stage since hosting CAN in 2010. They failed to qualify for the tournament three times since then and were eliminated in the group stage three times.

Heading into the match against Burkina Faso in Yamoussoukro, Angola currently leads the group in goal difference.

Previous encounters with this opponent also indicate that there is no clear favorite in this clash, with six matches resulting in two wins for each team and two draws.

Despite a long winless streak leading up to the Mauritania match, Angola had remained undefeated in their previous eight games, enhancing hopes for a commendable result in the final round.

On the other hand, Burkina Faso has traversed a similar path to Angola in this tournament, securing a victory and a draw in their first two matches.

Their victory came in the opening match against Mauritania, courtesy of a last-minute penalty from Bertrand Traore.

In their match against Algeria, Burkina Faso scored twice, and despite Traore’s potential match-winning performance, they were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw in stoppage time.

Subsequently, to clinch the top spot in Group D, Herve’s team must secure a win in the final round, as they lag behind Angola based on additional tiebreakers. Alternatively, even a draw guarantees them a place in the AFCON knockout stage.

This bodes well for the ‘Stallions’ since in their last two appearances in the elimination matches, they finished third and fourth in 2017 and 2021, respectively.

Notably, Burkina Faso has suffered only one defeat in their last eight matches, a friendly against Iran in preparation for the African Cup. In contrast to Angola, Herve’s team boasts more victories, with half of their last eight matches ending in favor of the ‘Stallions’.