Burkina Faso and Ethiopia close out their Africa Cup of Nations group

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Burkina Faso and Ethiopia close out their Africa Cup of Nations group-stage journey with a clash at the Kouekong Stadium on Monday. Burkina Faso can all but secure a place in the last 16 by avoiding defeat, while Ethiopia need to win to stand any chance of making it through.

Simply avoiding defeat in this final group game should realistically be enough to see Burkina Faso through to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) knockout rounds, at least via the third-place route. However they will no doubt go for the win in order to secure that all-important top-two finish.

The ‘Stallions’ will be hoping to continue their impressive form on foreign soil since June 2021 (W5, D4, L1) and they can do exactly that by producing a galloping start as they often do in AFCON tournaments. Should they score the opener here, it would be the seventh time they’ve struck first across their last eight AFCON proper games (W4, D1, L2).

While the AFCON may have provided some distraction from the ongoing Tigray civil war in Ethiopia, they may be sent packing on this final matchday unless they can beat this talented Burkina Faso side and qualify via the third-place route. The ‘Walias’ are up against it though, given that only two of their 25-man squad ply their trade outside of their domestic league system.

It’s not been easy for Ethiopia since they won this tournament on home soil way back in 1962, but manager Wubetu Abate has already achieved one of his two primary objectives since his appointment, which was to qualify for this tournament. They did so by winning half of their qualifiers, including one against the Ivory Coast, so they are not without a chance here.

Date: 17/01/2021
Time: 19:00
Venue: Kouekong Stadium (Bafoussam)
Pick for this match:
“1” – @ 1.57 ( BETWINNER )