Dango Aboubacar Ouattara’s goal on the stroke of halftime was enough for Burkina Faso to beat Tunisia 1-0 and progress to the semifinals of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021.
Dango Ouattara who was sent off in the closing stages scored on the stroke of halftime to give Kamou Malo’s side the victory against the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia.
The Stallions who were without their talisman and captain Bertrand Traore started brightly at the Omnisports Roumde stadium in Garoua.
The Burkinabe controlled possession in the opening exchanges with Steeve Yago and Ibrahim Toure pulling the strings in midfield.
Cyrille Bayala had the first opening of the closely contested match when he found space on the left to shoot straight at Bechir Said in the Tunisian goal midway through the first half.
The Carthage Eagles were denied by Koffi on 26 minutes when he dived to his left to save Wahbi Khazri’s fierce free kick.
The two sides continue to cancel each other in midfield while they try to break on the counter.
A defensive mistake in the Burkinabe box almost allowed Jaziri to score when he charged down Soumaila Ouattara.
Dango broke the deadlock with a neat finish from a swift counter attack. Ibrahim Toure played him through on goal and he cut inside before firing past Bechir.
The Tunisians returned after the break with more determination as they search for the equaliser.
Kouakou Koffi pulled another brilliant save from a set piece to keep his lead. Substitute Ali Maaloul struck a sumptuous strike but Koffi was equal to it.
The Stallions were reduced to ten men late on when goal scorer Dango was sent off for swinging an arm on a Tunisian defender.
The Burkinabe held on to progress to the semifinals of the tournament and they will meet the winner between Senegal and Equatorial Guinea.
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