A little too much for the Stallions of Burkina Faso. Hubert Velud's men struggled on Tuesday (January 16th) against Mauritania. Bertrand Traoré, who came on at the end of the match, put on the clothes of saviour at the end of the match on penalty (1-0) and offers his team the lead of Group D of the 2024 AFCON thanks to the draw of Algeria and Angola.
The occupancy rate of the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké on this hot January afternoon did nothing to extinguish the controversy. The stands remain empty for this second match of Group D.
See alsoWhere are the spectators? An update on the low crowds in the stadiums
The Burkinabés did not stop at these considerations and took control of the game, against a timid Mauritania, as if paralyzed by its status as Little Thumb without a win at the AFCON. Burkina Faso but their forwards just missed in the final move, like Kaboré (10′) or Badolo (17′, 19′).
The Mourabitounes soon suffered a huge blow: the exit through injury of their star striker Aboubakar Kamara, a former Fulham player often known by the nickname "AK47".
But, far from demotivating them, this premature exit will on the contrary galvanize the Mauritanians. Aboubakary Koita worried Koffi with a free-kick (27′) and then Hemeya Tanjy tried his luck twice (31′, 33′). When the referee sent the 22 players back to the locker room, the momentum was in the Mourabitounes camp.
However, the second half started like the first: huge pressure on the Mauritanians' goal put on by Hubert Velud's team. To counter the newfound energy of his opponents, Amir Abdou played his cards close to his chest and made the rest of his changes in the space of 10 minutes. For his part, the Burkina Faso coach brought on the emblematic Bertrand Traoré to make the difference (74′).
Enter the game of Aston Villa's darling, Captain Bertrand Traoré, who will bring a little more attacking intensity to the Stallions' game.
75'Burkina
Faso 🇧🇫 0-0 Mauritania 🇲🇷 #CAN2023 #AFCON2023 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/LlxNsdH91A
— Ablam GNAMESSO 🇧🇫🇧🇯🇹🇬® (@AblamGnamesso) January 16, 2024
In the humidity of Bouaké, which seemed to suffocate the players, it was finally Mauritania who had the best chance. Hervé Koffi deflected a shot from Koita (78′). Bertrand Traoré tried to wrap up the end of the match but it took a penalty whistled thanks to the video referee for Burkina Faso to open the scoring: Bertrand Traoré did not need to be asked (90'+4)
Read alsoFind the standings of Group D
Burkina Faso are now top of Group D ahead of Saturday's clash with Algeria, who settled for a draw against Angola the day before. Mauritania will still be waiting for their second goal in the competition.
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