A place in the last four is at stake as the Stallions of Burkina Faso and the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia square off in one of the quarter-final matches of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
It’s a clash of two erratic sides that have not been convincing in the tournament, with both scrapping their way through to the last round to reach here.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the crucial AFCON quarter-final meeting between Burkina Faso and Tunisia kicks off at 8 p. m. on Saturday at the Stade Omnisport Roumdé Adjia in Garoua, Cameroon.
Motivation will be high and with a spot in the semi-finals as the reward for the team that gets through, it could well be a thrilling encounter from both sides.
Tunisia and Burkina Faso had similar stories in their 2022 AFCON journey, with both sides having to face a struggle to the quarterfinals.
Burkina Faso needed penalties to overcome West African rivals Gabon in the round of 16.
Bertrand Traore’s first half effort was cancelled out by a late own goal from Adama Guira before earning a 7-6 win in the penalty shootout.
In that match, Burkina Faso had 47 percent possession and 15 shots at goal with six on target. Gabon got 17 attempts on goal with three of them on target.
The result meant Burkina Faso remained unbeaten since suffering a 1-2 defeat to hosts Cameroon in their opening fixture.
Tunisia on the other hand, have had to overcome some difficulties to reach this stage of the competition and are now aiming for a second consecutive semi-final berth.
They suffered from an extensive COVID-19 outbreak in their squad with captain Wahbi Khazri and defender Dylan Bronn among those who have already missed matches in Cameroon.
After a horrendous group stage, Tunisia managed to be one of the best third placed teams with a good goal difference to make it to the quarterfinal stage.
They were beaten twice in their group, with losses to Mali and Gamibia.
However, their 4-0 demolition of Mauritania was enough to secure a spot in the Round of 16, where they upset three- time AFCON winner Nigeria to take on Burkina Faso in the quarters.
The North Africans were down to the barebones in the round of 16 clash against Nigeria but showed their character to claim a 1-0 victory.
Youssef Msakni struck the only goal just after the restart as they shocked the favourites and held on for the win.