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Burkina Faso’s head coach Brahima Traore says no stone will be left unturned as his boys prepare to face Eaglets of Nigeria for a place in the semifinals of the ongoing U-17 AFCON in Algeria.
Both teams zoomed into the quarterfinal after overcoming Cameroon and South Africa respectively and will now battle to the finish to earn a place in the semis and stand a chance of picking a ticket to the World cup.
Traore meanwhile has lauded the team’s resilience as they earned a place in the quarter finals of the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) following a 2-1 win over Cameroon on Sunday.
They trailed 1-0 against the defending champions after 61 minutes, but scored two goals within two minutes in the final quarter of an hour to earn an automatic slot in the last eight.
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“When we conceded the first goal, we just changed our system and tactics to be more attacking. We put pressure on them and scored the two goals. We worked hard and had a good fighting spirit. We went 1-0 down but never gave up. We had confidence in ourselves and I am happy with the desire shown by the players,” said the coach.
Traore says their primary target remains clinching a ticket to the FIFA World Cup, and this will require them to beat Nigeria, who they face in the quarter finals next Thursday in Algiers.
“We had two objectives in this tournament; first to get to the semi-finals and then to fight for the title. We will prepare well for Nigeria to enable us get to the semis and earn the World Cup ticket,” noted the tactician.
Burkina Faso now move from Annaba to Algiers, where they are scheduled to play the Golden Eaglets next Thursday.
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