AFCON 2023: Eagles of Mali end Stallions of Burkina Faso's AFCON

Posted : 31 January 2024

The Eagles of Mali concluded their match with the Stallions of Burkina Faso at the Amadou Coulibaly Stadium on Tuesday, ending their sister's party and the hope of another show at the quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory.

The Eagles of Mali once again asserted their dominance over the energized Stallion.

Notably, the Eagles of Mali made a perfect start in the 3rd minute of the game, possibly marking the fastest goal of the Round of 16. Under pressure, Bayern Leverkusen's Central Defender, Edmond Tapsobe, scored an own goal, giving Mali the lead.

Mali deservedly secured the second goal at the start of the second half, with the 'Man of the Match,' Lassine Sinayoko, scoring a spectacular goal after receiving a pass from Traore. Sinayoko had previously scored against Ghana and Mozambique in the group matches.

Burkina Faso attempted a comeback, and the ball rolled onto the arms of a Malian defender, leading to VAR approving a penalty. Aston Villa player Bertrand Traore skillfully tucked it in at the 55th minute. Traore had also scored against Algeria and Mauritania in the group stages.

In their seven meetings, Mali has secured five wins, Burkina Faso one, and they drew once. Mali triumphed 3-1 in an AFCON match on January 31, 2004, and in five friendly matches, Mali won 3-0 on August 13, 2009, drew 1-1 on November 12, 2011, smashed Burkina Faso on October 9, 2013, still bashed Burkina Faso 4-1 on October 9, 2015, and lost to the Stallions 1-2 on January 7, 2017.

In their last encounter during a CHAN match, Mali secured a lone goal victory on January 17, 2021.

Mali topped Group E with 5 points, scoring 3 goals and conceding just one.

The team defeated Bafana Bafana of South Africa 2-0, drew 1-1 with the Eagles of Tunisia, and played a goalless draw with the Brave Warriors of Namibia.

The Stallions of Burkina Faso beat Mauritania by a lone goal, drew 2-2 with Algeria, and lost to Angola 0-2. They secured 4 points to come second after Angola in Group D, scoring 3 goals and conceding 4 goals.

This sibling encounter features two teams separated by a 650 km distance, both making their 13th appearance at the party and both having lost in AFCON finals.

Mali has played 54 games without winning the trophy, with the best performance in 1972 when they lost 2-3 in the finals to Congo.

Burkina Faso has an interesting record, being eliminated at the group stages eight times, reaching the semifinals four times, and playing in the finals in 2013, where they lost to Nigeria by a lone goal.

Mali, ranked 51 with 13 appearances, has played 53 AFCON games without winning the trophy. In their preparations, they played a 1-1 draw with Uganda on October 13, 2023, beat Saudi 3-1 on October 17, 2023, defeated Chad 3-1 in a World Cup match on November 17, 2023, drew 1-1 against CAR in a World Cup on November 20, 2023, and thrashed Guinea Bissau 6-2 in a friendly on January 6, 2024.

Mali's best performance was being Runners up in 1972. They lost to DR Congo 2-3. In Tunisia 94, they placed 4th, losing to Ivory Coast 1-3. They hosted in 2002 and lost the Bronze to Nigeria by a lone goal. Nigeria also denied them the Bronze at Tunisia 2004 with a 3-1 victory.

Burkina Faso, ranked 105 in the world, played a 1-1 draw with Guinea Bissau in a World Cup qualifier on November 17, 2023, beat Ethiopia 3-0 in the second leg on November 21, 2023, played Iran in a friendly on January 5, 2024, losing 1-2, defeated DR Congo in another friendly played on January 10, 2024. In their match against Mauritania in this AFCON Group D opener, they won by a lone goal.

Burkina Faso's greatest achievement at AFCON was Silver at South Africa 2013 when they lost to Nigeria by a lone goal in the final. In their first appearance at Ghana 78, they were eliminated at the group stage, same as South Africa 96 when they first appeared as Burkina Faso after the country changed its name. In 1998, they hosted and lost the Bronze to DR Congo 4-1 on penalties after 4-4 at full time. They won Silver in 2013, got Bronze at Gabon 2017, beating Ghana by a lone goal, but in the last AFCON Games Cameroon 2021, they lost to hosts Cameroon 5-3 on penalties after 3-3 at full time.

AFCON 2023: Eagles of Mali end Stallions of Burkina Faso's AFCON

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