At the end of a match without spectacle, Burkina Faso ended up snatching victory thanks to a penalty in the last minutes against Mauritania, during its first match in group D (0-0). The Mourabitounes, however, proved more dangerous than the Stallions.
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A slow start for the Stallions of Burkina Faso. Hubert Velud’s men had difficulty on Tuesday January 16 against Mauritania. Bertrand Traoré, who entered at the end of the match, took on the role of savior by scoring a penalty (1-0) in added time and gave his team the lead in Group D of CAN 2024 thanks to Algeria’s draw and Angola Monday evening.
The occupancy rate of the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké on this hot January afternoon will have done nothing to put an end to the controversies. The bays remain empty for this second match in Group D.
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The Burkinabè do not stop at these considerations and take control of the game, facing a timid Mauritania, as if paralyzed by its status as Tom Thumb, without any victory at the CAN. Burkina Faso pushes but its attackers miss the mark in the last gesture, like Kaboré (10th) or Badolo (17th, 19th).
The Mourabitounes quickly suffered a huge blow: the injury exit 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 worries Hervé Koffi with a free kick (27th) then Hemeya Tanjy tries his luck twice (31st, 33rd). When the referee sends the 22 players back to the locker room, the momentum is in the Mourabitounes camp.
However, the second period started like the first: enormous pressure on the Mauritanians’ goal put by Hubert Velud’s team. To counter the energy regained by his opponents, Amir Abdou plays his all and makes the rest of his changes in the space of 10 minutes. For his part, the coach of Burkina Faso brings in the emblematic Bertrand Traoré to try to make the difference (74th).
In the humidity of Bouaké, which seemed to suffocate the players, it was ultimately Mauritania which had the best opportunity, but Koffi diverted Koita’s shot (78th). Bertrand Traoré tries to wrap up the end of the match but it takes a penalty whistled thanks to video refereeing for Burkina Faso to open the score: Bertrand Traoré does not hesitate (90th + 4)
Read alsoFind the classification of group D
On the line, Burkina Faso takes the lead in Group D before the clash on Saturday against Algeria, which settled for a draw the day before against Angola. Mauritania will still be waiting for its second goal in the competition.
