The Africa Cup of Nations has now reached the knockout stages of the tournament and we are a step closer to finding out who will play in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. The Quarterfinals will kick off with Burkina Faso playing Tunisia at the Stade de I’Amitie in Gabon this Saturday, January 28, 2017. (8:00 AM Pacific). At this stage of the tournament it is all or nothing for these teams and it will be an intense match-up between the front-runners of Group A (Burkina Faso) and the runners-up of Group B (Tunisia).
Burkina Faso came in first place of Group A with five points and one more goal than Cameroon to secure the top seed of the group via goal differential. The Stallions started off the AFCON 2017 with two hard-fought draws, first against Cameroon 1-1 then another 1-1 result against host Gabon in Matchday 2 of the competition. Finally, in Matchday 3 the West-African nation secured the first place with a 2-0 victory against the weak link of the set, Guinea-Bissau.
Coach Paulo Duarte has a well-balanced team that could turn out to be dark horses or in their case dark stallions in this competition. The defense is led by two players who militate in Europe as Bakary Kone of Malaga in Spain and Steeve Yago of Toulouse in France. Then their rock in midfield is captain Charles Kabore who has been with the national team since 2006. In attack, Burkina Faso do carry many pacey players like Jonathan Zongo of UD Almeria in Spain. The Stallions also have a secret weapon on their bench in 21-year-old Bertrand Traore who is a young up and coming prospect for Chelsea F.C.
Tunisia finished with six points in Group B of the tournament which was not enough to put them past Senegal, earning them second place in the group. The Northern-African nation had a rough start to the competition falling 2-0 to Senegal but then followed the defeat with two consecutive victories. First a 2-1 upset against Riyad Mahrez and Algeria then a 4-2 bulldozing over Zimbabwe.
Tunisia carry a strong center-back pairing of Syam Ben Youssef of Ligue 1 side Caen, and Aymen Abdennour of Valencia in La Liga. The match could prove to be challenging for Tunisia but manager, Henryk Kasperczak will count with his main play-maker, Wahbi Khazri of Sunderlan in the Premier League to create spaces for the North-African side. The match should be very contested with intense play to kick off the quarterfinals of the competition.
MORE: Senegal vs Cameroon AFCON 2017 Quarterfinals Match Preview
How to Watch Burkina Faso vs Tunisia AFCON 2017
The Burkina Faso vs Tunisia match will be broadcast this Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 8:00 AM Pacific:
TV Schedule: beIN Sports USA
Watch Online: fuboTV (Watch 24 Hours Free)
