Seasoned contenders Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea are set to ignite their Africa Cup of Nations journeys in Group E, clashing at the vibrant Mohammed V Stadium this Wednesday.
Both teams are hungry to surpass their previous round-of-16 exits, with the Stallions boasting three semi-final runs in their last five tournaments and Nzalang Nacional making the quarter-finals in three of their last four appearances.
With tournament heavyweights Algeria lurking in Group E, Burkina Faso will be eager to grab an early edge over their main rivals for a knockout spot, even as Sudan waits in the wings.
Not among the tournament’s biggest names, the Stallions nevertheless boast a respectable AFCON pedigree, having finished on the podium twice in their last five appearances after losing the 2013 final to Nigeria before defeating Ghana in the third-place playoff four years later.
Since then, Burkina Faso finished fourth in 2021 and bowed out to Mali in the 2023 round of 16, but their sights are firmly set on another smooth journey to the knockouts.
That ambition makes a strong start all the more crucial, though history is a fickle guide: Burkina have triumphed in just one of their last 13 AFCON openers, that solitary win coming in their most recent campaign.
Yet the Stallions have every reason to believe they can buck the trend, riding a wave of five wins from their last six matches and netting three goals in each of their past three games.
Brama Traore’s men kicked off their scoring spree with a 3–1 win over Ethiopia in their last World Cup qualifier, a bittersweet result as they narrowly missed the playoffs, before dispatching Niger 3–2 and Benin 3–0 in friendlies.
Equatorial Guinea, by contrast, arrive with far lEquatorial Guinea, on the other hand, enter the tournament with their engines sputtering, having secured only two wins in their last nine outings, including a forfeited World Cup qualifier against Malawi.heir qualifying group after a 1-1 draw with Liberia and have since split results in two friendlies, edging Kenya 1-0 before falling 2- 0 to Madagascar in mid-November.
Despite a lukewarm run-up, Equatorial Guinea have a knack for defying expectations; even their last-16 exit was their earliest in four tournaments, and they left a mark in the group stage.
Placed in a group with future finalists Nigeria and hosts Ivory Coast, Nzalang Nacional stunned all by topping the table with seven points, including a memorable 4–0 rout of the Elephants. Now, they aim to start strong, though their last three tournament openers have yielded no wins.
History is not on Equatorial Guinea’s side in this matchup: they have yet to beat Burkina in three previous meetings, suffering one defeat and failing to find the net each time.
