Cameroon Black Stars Face the Stallions in Search of Sixth Title

Cameroon, a five-time champion, seeks new glory as they enter the Africa Cup of Nations as hosts. This will be the third match between Cameroon and Burkina Faso in the Africa Cup of Nations, with their previous encounters occurring in the group stage, where Cameroon won 1-0 in 1998 and the teams drew 1-1 in 2017. Cameroon is making its twentieth appearance in the AFCON finals, a tally surpassed only by Egypt (25), Ivory Coast (24), and Ghana (23). The Egyptian team is the only one that has won the tournament more times than the "Indomitable Lions" of Cameroon, who have claimed the title five times. Commenting on Cameroon’s chances of winning the title, the team's coach Antonio José Conceição Oliveira stated, "I think we should think positively. We need to work hard and fulfill our responsibility to bring back the good days of Cameroonian football," as reported by CAF. Meanwhile, Burkina Faso returns to participate in the tournament after missing the last edition. This marks Burkina Faso's twelfth appearance, known as the "Stallions" in the Africa Cup of Nations. In their previous 11 participations, they either got eliminated in the group stage (8 times) or at least reached the semifinals (3 times). The team's coach Kamou Malo described Burkina Faso's participation in the tournament, saying, "Our team is one of the dark horses. We have a young but very talented team. An ambitious group of players with great solidarity and unity. With these values in mind, we can create surprises."