Burkina Faso : Thirsty For First Title

The senior national team of Burkina Faso, popularly known as ‘The Stallions’ qualified to the 2023 AFCON topping Group B with 11 points. They have been pooled in Group D of the final phase of the competition alongside Angola, Mauritania and Algeria.
The West African nation first gained qualification in 1978 as Upper Volta before changing its name to Burkina Faso. After the new development, they were not represented in six subsequent editions of the AFCON tournament. However, they made their comeback in the 1996 edition hosted by South Africa but were booted out in the group stage.  Since then, Burkina Faso has been absent on only three occasions (2006, 2008 and 2019). They were very close to clinching the title for the first time in their history in the AFCON but lost to a hungrier Nigerian side in the 2013 final. They came closer again four years later (2017) but had to settle for the third place winning Ghana 1-0 in the playoff match. In the following edition (2021), they fell a step back by finishing fourth-placed, losing to host Cameroon in the third-place match.  
Another time Burkina Faso had been a threat to other tournament’s favourites was in 1998 when they hosted and finished fourth. It was their second participation in the AFCON under the name Burkina Faso. The Stallions beat Guinea and Algeria in the group stages to qualify to the quarter fina...