In the duel at the top of Group L between two teams already qualified for Can 2025, this Thursday evening at the Stade du 26 Mars in Bamako (Mali), Senegal dominated Burkina Faso (1-0) for the fifth place. playoff day. In a rather balanced match, the decision was made through Strasbourg player Habib Diarra.
The start of the match was Senegalese, with attempts from Mané, Iliman Ndiaye and Kalidou Koulibaly from the first minutes of play. But the first real opportunity of the match came in the 6th minute, through Iliman Ndiaye who came up against Farid Ouédraogo from the left.
While Nicolas Jackson sent a header off target (7th), before seeing a foot attempt blocked at the penalty spot (9th), Ousseni Bouda responded for Burkina Faso with a diving header to the right, on the fall from a cross from the opposite wing (10th). The Stallions thus moved up the cursor. As a result, the Lions felt more danger in front of their goals. For example, it took a good return from Krépin Diatta in front of an opponent to make up for an error by Edouard Mendy (40th).
On a free kick, Idrissa Guèye tightened the proceedings by calling on Farid Ouédraogo on his right, just before half-time (45th).
Like the first 45 minutes, the two teams went almost blow for blow in the second half. In this game, Burkina Faso was on the verge of taking the lead on the scoreboard, when Cédric Badolo missed the empty target following a ball pushed back by E. Mendy, following a cross from the right (54th) .
Habib Diarra enters and crucifies the Stallions
Sadio Mané then tried to take the match into his own hands. However, if he often managed to pillory his opponents on the right, the Al-Nassr winger lacked precision, like a curling shot from the right at the end of the race, and who was fleeing to the right from the frame of F. Ouédraogo (67th).
Behind, Mendy preserved his cage with a huge reflex save on a helmet hit from Saïdou Simporé (81st). At an undecided end to the match, it was the returning Habib Diarra who cleared the scoreboard in the 83rd minute by placing a low strike to the right of F. Ouédraogo, thus scoring his very first goal in the selection (1-0).
Behind, the Senegalese came close to being penalized three minutes later when, in an overrun, Edmond Tapsoba, eccentric on the left, saw his shot fail behind the empty goals of E. Mendy (86th).
Senegal therefore wins and takes sole lead of Group L. All that remains is to finish in style on Tuesday against Burundi at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio. The Burkinabè, who have not failed, will cross paths with Malawi.
It’s said… It’s said… It’s said…
Pape Thiaw, Lions coach: “The objective was to win the three points. We already knew that it wasn’t going to be easy against a tough opponent who was difficult to maneuver. We had to win the match, that’s why we put together a very offensive XI. I can’t talk about winning coaching, because that’s the merit of an entire group. When I entered the locker room and saw how happy the players were, I said to myself, they look like soldiers who have succeeded in their mission. We did it, and we are happy. This is an opportunity for me to thank the Senegalese public who came en masse. We still have an important match to win at home against Burundi to finish in style.”
Brama Traoré, Burkina coach: “We have just lost a match that was close to our hearts. The plan was clear and well underway. We demonstrated to the world that we can compete with the entire Senegalese team, even if my team was short of eight starters. We have potential. My greatest bitterness this evening is not having been able to realize the opportunities. It’s sad, it’s bitter. We learn through pain. The plan worked 100%. We must continue to trust these young talents. The Burkina of tomorrow is preparing today. From this moment on, Senegal will respect us.”
With afrik-foot
