By 
Cameroon will hope to end their tournament on a high when they take on Burkina Faso for the bronze medal on Saturday evening.
Burkina Faso’s wait for an AFCON crown goes on after losing to Senegal in the semis but they can replicate their third-place finish in 2017 by defeating Cameroon.
After a sloppy start to the Africa Cup of Nations, Burkina Faso will feel satisfied with their performance at the tournament as they could walk away with the bronze medal.
Kamou Malo’s side were denied a dream start to the tournament in their opening game on January 9, when they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands Cameroon after Vincent Aboubakar struck twice to cancel out Gustavo Sangare’s 24th-minute opener. The host nation took all three points that day.
However, Burkina Faso bounced back to winning ways four days later when they edged out Cape Verde 1-0 in a nervy contest before wrapping things up in the group stages with a 1-1 draw with Ethiopia on January 17.
With four points from three games, the Stallions finished as runners-up in Group A, three points off group winners Cameroon and level on points with Cape Verde, who also progressed as one of the four best third-placed sides.
Heading into the knockout stages as one of the underdogs, the West Africans were then held to a 1-1 draw by a resilient Gabon side in their round-of-16 clash before going on to win the game 7-6 on penalties.
Burkina Faso continued their fairytale run at the tournament as they claimed a surprise 1-0 victory over Tunisia in the quarter-finals last Saturday courtesy of Dango Ouattara’s solitary strike on the stroke of half time.
However, Malo’s side were denied a second final appearance since 2013, when they were beaten 1-0 by Nigeria, as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Senegal in in their semi-final four days later.
Following a drab first-half, the game was sparked to life after the interval as Abdou Diallo and Idrisa Gueye scored in a six-minute spell to put the Senegalese two goals up, and after Ibrahim Blati Toure pulled one back for Burkina Faso in the 82nd minute, Sadio Mane scored his third goal of the tournament to restore the Lions of Teranga’s two-goal advantage.
Burkina Faso headed into Wednesday’s game unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 games across all competitions, scoring 18 goals and keeping five clean sheets in that time.
On the other side, The Indomitable Lions were unfortunate to lose three penalties after holding Egypt to a 0-0 in the semifinals and will feel somehow disappointed but all the same as they will have to settle for a third-placed finish at best.
A gruelling penalty shootout defeat against seven-time champions Egypt ended their hopes of a title on home soil and they will be back in action just 48 hours later at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde because CAF moved this game forward a day, having originally scheduled it for Sunday afternoon.
Following a fine run in the qualifiers, where they finished top of Group F after claiming 11 points from six games, the Indomitable Lions secured smooth passage to the Africa Cup of Nations proper.
Riding on the wave of support from the home crowd, the Central Africans got the tournament underway in style when they came from behind to claim a 2-1 win over Saturday’s opponents when they met in Group A on January 9.
Toni Conceicao’s men turned in another fine show of class four days later when they came from behind to secure a comprehensive 4-1 win over Ethiopia, before holding out for a 1-1 draw in their group finale against Cape Verde on January 17.
Finishing top of Group A with seven points from three games, Cameroon got the ball rolling in the knockout stages on January 24 when they saw off a dogged Comoros side 2-1 courtesy of goals in either half from Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Toko Ekambi.
The Olympique Lyon forward was at it again in the quarter-finals as he struck twice in the second half against Gambia five days later to hand his side a second last-four appearance in five years.
However, Cameroon’s charge for a sixth Africa Cup of Nations title came to an end on Thursday when they were beaten in penalties by Egypt following a goalless 120 minutes at the Paul Biya Stadium.
In a cagey affair between the two most decorated sides in the history of the competition, Conceicao’s side were guilty of wasteful finishing as they failed to tuck away their chances and with nothing separating the sides after extra time, the Pharaohs claimed a 3-1 win on penalties.
This fine run has been in no small part owing to their impressive display at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have scored 20 goals in that time, while managing four clean sheets at the opposite end of the pitch.
Next up for Cameroon is an opposing side who they are unbeaten against in each of the last five encounters between the sides since 2015, claiming three draws and two wins, including a 2-1 win in the group stages, and they will feel confident of coming away with the desired result on Saturday.
HEAD TO HEAD.
There have been a total of five meetings between Burkina Faso and Cameroon. The AFCON 2022 hosts won two of those meetings while the other three ended in a draw.
Of the three draws, two ended 1-1 and the other 0-0. The last encounter which took place in this year’s AFCON group stage match ended 2-1 in Cameroon’s favour. It means the Stallions and the Indomitable Lions will meet for the second time in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.
And so, the vital question in this post is will the Stallions hunt down the Lions or end up being mauled?
Lack of victory against Cameroon is a major highlight in this fixture. So, the visitors will not only fight for a third place in the ongoing AFCON but also their first victory against Cameroon. Notably, four of the five previous matchups had goals on both ends.
Cameroon has only kept a clean sheet against Burkina Faso once, this happened in a barren draw in January 24th this year, only a few weeks before the AFCON started.
Several changes are expected for both teams, particularly with Cameroon playing only 48 hours after their semi-final that went the distance against Egypt.
Young goalkeeper Simon Omossola could step in for the Lions while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Pierre Kunde will hope to come into the XI, having not been involved in the Egypt defeat. Vincent Aboubakar could remain in the attack to bolster his top scorer credentials
Cameroon will either be tired or resting key players for this game, but the laborious pace of most third-place play-offs should mitigate those problems for the hosts
Here are the expected line ups of the two teams;
Burkina Faso predicted lineup:
Ouedraogo, Kabore, Dayo, Tapsoba, Yago, Sangare, Guira, Traore, Bayala, Bertrand, and Bande.
Cameroon predicted lineup:
Simon, Muokoudi, Ngadeu, Tolo, Hongla, Kunde, Eric, Ngamaleu, Aboubakar, Ekambi and Anguissa
