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Senegal, Burkina Faso clash in cagey semis tonight
Both sides, which were beaten in the finals in 2013 and 2019 respectively, will head into the game desperate to get one over the other as they seek to conquer the continent for the first-time ever.
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Burkina Faso will be delighted with their performance at the Africa Cup of Nations as they have turned in a performance of the highest quality and made it to the last four against the odds.
After suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of host nation Cameroon in the tournament's curtain-raiser on January 9, Kamou Malo's men bounced back to winning ways four days later when they saw off Cape Verde 1-0 courtesy Hassane Bande's solitary strike.
Burkina Faso rounded off the group stages with a 1-1 draw with Ethiopia on January 17 to pick up four points from three games in Group A and finish as runners-up, three points adrift of group winners Cameroon and level on points with Cape Verde, which also progressed as one of the four best third-placed sides.
The Stallions were then forced into penalties by a resilient Gabon side in their round-of-16 clash two Sundays ago, when Adama Guira's own goal cancelled out Bertrand Traore's first-half strike to restore parity before they claimed a 7-6 victory in a nervy shootout.
The West African turned in a performance of the highest quality last time out as they stunned Tunisia 1-0 in last Saturday's quarter-finals encounter when Dango Ouattara netted at the stroke of half time to send the Eagles of Carthage packing.
Burkina Faso head into today's game unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 games across all competitions — picking up five wins and five draws — with their group stage defeat at the hands of the Indomitable Lions being the only exception.
While they will now look to keep the juggernaut rolling, the goal will be to make it to the final and surpass their 2013 run, where they made it to the final before suffering a gruesome 1-0 defeat at the hands of three-time champions Nigeria.
However, next up is a tricky tie against an opposing side that they have failed to defeat in each of the last four meetings between the sides since 2006, with their most recent three encounters ending in draws.
Senegal, on the other hand, have hit their stride at the business end of the tournament and will now feel confident in their chances of going all the way this year and ending their wait for continental glory.
Aliou Cisse's men had to dig deep in their AFCON opener on January 10 as they needed a 97th-minute penalty which was converted with aplomb by Sadio Mane to see off a dogged Zimbabwe side.
Their struggles in the game were signs of things to come as they failed to win their subsequent group games, playing out goalless draws against Guinea and Malawi respectively, but with five points from three games, the Lions of Teranga climbed to the top spot in Group B and secured smooth passage to the knockout stages.
However, having scored just once in the group stages, Senegal put two past Cape Verde in thir round-of-16 clash on January 25, courtesy second half goals from Mane and Marseille youngster, Bamba Dieng.
This was followed by a dominant display against Equatorial Guinea in last Sunday's quarter-finals as they secured a comprehensive 3-1 victory when the sides locked horns at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.
In that encounter, Famara Diedhiou put Cisse's men ahead just before the half-hour mark, and when Jannick Buyla restored parity in the 57th minute, Cheikhou Kouyate came off the bench to restore Senegal's lead before fellow substitute Ismaila Sarr made sure of the result in the 79th minute in what was his first appearance at the tournament.