Afcon 2021: Burkina Faso vs Tunisia Preview - Kick-off time, TV channel, squad news

Burkina Faso and Tunisia will face off searching for a place in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations at Roumde Adjia Stadium, in Garoua, Cameroon on Saturday.

The Stallions, who are chasing their first-ever Afcon title, reached the last eight of the 33rd edition after beating Gabon 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regular time.

Burkina Faso had reached the Round of 16 after finishing second in Group A, losing their opener 2-1 against hosts Cameroon; recovered to beat Cape Verde 1-0 and then settled to a 1-1 draw against Ethiopia.

On the other hand, Tunisia reached the quarter-finals after edging out Nigeria 1-0 at Roumde Adjia Stadium after forward Youssef Msakni scored for the Eagles of Carthage.

En route to the knockout stage, Tunisia kicked off their campaign in Group F with a 1-0 defeat against Mali, they recovered to thrash Mauritania 4-0 before losing their third and final game 1-0 against the Gambia.

TV Channel, Live Score & How To Watch

Squads & Team News

Burkina Faso have not reported any injury concerns or Covid-19 related issues ahead of the fixture.

Coach Kamou Malo, who will bank on Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore for success, is confident the Stallions will get a win and continue their journey to their first-ever title.

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“The next match is qualifying for the semi-finals, so it is very difficult. We have a determination to continue the journey and feel the responsibility,” Malo told the media ahead of the game as quoted by CafOnline.

“Our players are young and have the enthusiasm to win and continue their way. Tunisia is a good and cohesive team, but our side is armed with spirit and determination.”

Meanwhile, Tunisia received a huge boost heading into the fixture with the return of two players - Ali Abidi and Muhammad Ali bin Ramadan – who recovered from Covid-19.

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Captain Wahbi Khazri, who returned to the fold in the Nigeria game and played for four minutes, believes their source of strength has always been collective and victorious spirit.

“Our weapon and source of strength has always been our collective and victorious spirit,” Khazri said. “We are happy with what we did against Nigeria, and we will continue to do the same against Burkina Faso.

“Against Nigeria, we showed our ability to win.”

Match Preview

In the history of the competition, this will be the third match between Burkina Faso and Tunisia, with the Stallions progressing from the previous two – both quarter-final encounters (8-7 on penalties in 1998; and 2-0 in 2017).

Tunisia will play in their 11th quarter-final match at Afcon, no team has made more appearances in this round since it was introduced in 1992, although, the Eagles of Carthage have been eliminated in five of their last six such games at the tournament (W1).

Burkina Faso have progressed from all three of their previous quarter-final matches at the tournament - only Mali have played more matches in this round of the competition while progressing to the semi-finals on each occasion (5).

Tunisia have won two of their last three Afcon matches (L1), keeping two clean sheets, they’ve only ever kept three shutouts in a single edition once before – in 2000 (3).

Following his winner against Nigeria, Msakni is the first Tunisian to score in five different Afcon editions, while only four players have scored in six different Afcon’s – Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia), Asamoah Gyan, and Andre Ayew (both Ghana).

This is Burkina Faso’s 12th appearance in the Afcon and in their previous 11 participations, they have either been eliminated in the group stages (eight times) or at least reached the semi-finals (three times), including the final in 2013 (0-1 v Nigeria).

Meanwhile, Tunisia are making their 20th appearance, and their 15th in a row, the latter being a new record in the history of the tournament. Their only Afcon title dates back to 2004, as hosts; since then, they’ve progressed past the quarter-finals only once, in 2019.