Burkina Faso aim to upset Egypt
Burkina Faso will be aiming for another giant-killing feat this evening in Libreville as they take on Egypt in the first semi-finals clash of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, hoping to book a place in the final of the showpiece event for the second time in four years.
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After upstaging 2004 Africa champions Tunisia at the quarter-final stage, the Burkinabe are riding on a wave and will hope the Stade de L’Amitie in the Gabonese capital and their vociferous supporters will provide the right atmosphere to get the weary Egyptians out of their way just as their fellow north Africans suffered at the same venue last Saturday.
"We dream of doing better than in 2013. It will not be easy. We cannot know what the future will be, only God knows," said (Les Etalons) Stallions coach Paulo Duarte.
The West Africans may not have been given a lot of chance to repeat their best ever performance four years ago, but after holding Cameroun, hosts Gabon and scoring two each against Guinea-Bissau and Tunisia, Duarte’s side are not being taken lightly, particularly for the manner in which they showed little respect for the Tunisians and look dangerous to add the seven-time African champions to their casualty list.
"My team is capable of producing fantastic football. There is quality and confidence among the boys," added Portuguese Duarte, whose side face an Egyptian team who struggle to score – three goals in four games – but have a water-tight defence which is yet to concede a goal in the tournament.
Egypt’s Argentine coach Hector Cuper, whose side have been hit by injuries to goalkeepers Ahmed El Shenawy and Sherif Ekramy, has fitness concerns as a calf injury rules out midfielder Mohamed Elneny, while striker Marwan Mohsen is a doubtful starter due to a knee problem.
The Burkinabe have also paid a heavy price for injuries to two of their most valuable players, Jonathan Pitroipa – the best player of the 2013 AFCON – and namesake Jonathan Zongo who both suffered freak hamstring injuries in their opening group clash with Cameroun.
However, Duarte’s side have played without being weighed down by the unavailability of their star players with Predudice Nakoulma, Issoufou Dayo, Bertrand Traore and Aristide Bance providing scoring options, while the team have kept two clean sheets.
Bance played the super substitute against Tunisia as he inspired a late comeback a few minutes after being introduced to the game, and the giant striker looks a good bet to start today’s game as the Stallions go all guns blazing against the most successive team in the history of the competition.