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Burkina Faso qualified for the fourth African Cup of Nations (CAN) semi-final in its history on Saturday by beating Tunisia (1-0).
The Stallions continue to bring some comfort to their country in crisis. Burkina Faso beat Tunisia (1-0) on Saturday January 29 in the quarter-finals of CAN-2022 and joined the last four for the fourth time in its history. The first two qualified for the semi-finals are therefore from the same group.
The match begins at a leisurely pace: both teams spin the ball without being pressed by their opponents. The first quarter of an hour is only animated by a clash between Msakni and Hervé Koffi (7th). The Burkinabè doorman remains on the ground for a long time, he must be treated several times to be able to continue to play his role.
A balanced game
Adama Guira sounds the first alert. After a free kick 25 meters from Tapsoba pushed back by the wall, the ball returned to the penalty area towards Guira, but his recovery, deflected, was easily captured by Ben Saïd (17th).
Then Bayala stands out in turn. The Burkinabè obliterates Drager with a short outside hook and tries to strike from a tight angle between the legs of the Tunisia goalkeeper. Ben Saïd does not let himself be told (23rd).
Tunisia is not to be outdone and can count on its technical leader Wahbi Khazri to sound the revolt. One of his free kicks is deflected by Koffi with a tap (33rd). Then one of his corners drags into the area, taken at the far post by Bronn, whose shot flies away (35th).
Koffi’s slight injury fails to have dramatic consequences. His short raise for Tapsoba is close to ending in a goal gag. The defender, a little too quiet, does not feel the arrival of Jaziri who tackles his clearance. But the ball flies just off the frame (36th).
Despite the clear domination of Tunisia at the end of the first period, it was Burkina Faso who ended up finding the fault in the last moments. Dango Ouattara concludes a counter flash of the Stallions by playing with two Tunisian defenders. His dribbling allows him to find a striking angle and deceive Ben Saïd (45th + 2, 1-0).
A forgotten penalty?
The Tunisians remobilize as soon as they return to the field. The incoming Sliti collapses in the Burkinabè area after contact with Tapsoba. The referee signals to play (48th)… Then Sliti, again, finds Khazri ahead of Kaboré and puts his right foot in opposition to the far post. But his shot is unscrewed and slips past the cage of Koffi (58th). On a free kick, the other incoming, Maaloul, forces Koffi to a parade (68th).
Khazri sets fire to the Burkinabè defense. After eliminating two players, the Stéphanois was stopped by a very strong tackle from Soumaila Ouattara. VAR calls the referee to check the action, leaving Tunisia to hope for a penalty. However, he confirms his initial decision (78th).
Burkina Faso did not steal their victory and displayed a fine esprit de corps. To suffer so much without cashing in, with as against Gabon a rather favorable arbitration (penalty not whistled and additional time too short and cut before term), it smells of the epic. #TUNBFA #BFATUN #CAN2021
— Patrick Juillard (@PatrickJuillard) January 29, 2022
Burkina Faso is nervous about the Tunisian furia. The faults multiply and Dango Ouattara receives a red card for an elbow. He lets his partners defend their meager advantage at 10 (83rd). Without consequence however since the Stallions will hold, in particular thanks to Hervé Koffi, acclaimed on each of his interventions.
Burkina Faso therefore qualifies for the semi-finals for the fourth time in its history, 9 years after the previous one. The Stallions, who expressed their hope before the match of “easing the situation” in their country by going far in the tournament are on the way to succeeding in their bet.
Relive the match with our liveblog:
