Burkina Faso's Stallions did just but enough to earn a spot at the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, picking a point in a 1-1 draw away to Togo on Tuesday.
The point on enemy territory took the Burkinabes, semi-finalists of the 2021 showpiece to 10- points and top of Group B, three ahead of second placed Cape Verde and eight ahead of third placed eSwatini with two rounds of matches left to play.
Burkina Faso's head coach Herbert Velud said he dedicated the qualification to the people back home, expressing his joy in booking a slot in Ivory Coast with two matches to spare.
"We did what we needed to do tonight. I would like to dedicate this qualification to the people of Burkina Faso. We are very happy tonight and especially this being the first time that we have qualified with two matches left to play," the Frenchman stated.
Not only was the tactician impressed with the qualification, but the performance of his team as well.
"We put in a different organization in the game tonight and we showed more control. We knew that Togo would pose problems for us but we managed to contain most of them," added the coach.
Togo on the other end remain bottom of the group with two points, though with faint hopes of squeezing in.
"There are regrets from the first leg match in Marrakech because we should have done better. Tonight, we failed to win at home and it is difficult to qualify if you don't win at home. We have an opportunity still and we will fight to the end," said Paulo Duarte, the Togolese head coach.
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At home, they had to come from a goal down to force off a point against a side that narrowly beat them 1-0 last week.
The visitors got into the lead at the Stade de Kegue in Lome, Dango Ouattara reacting quickest to bury the ball into the net after Bertrand Traore's shot unmarked on the left had come off the bar.
But Togo quickly regrouped and got back on level terms in the 26th minute through Kodjo Laba who turned the ball home after the Burkina keeper had made a save from Thibault Klidje's long range shot.
In the second half, there was a balance of chances between either side with Laba's overhead kick from close range going straight to the keeper while Edmond Tapsoba failed to turn a well weighted Gustavo Sangare cross into the net.
Burkina Faso play Cape Verde in a top of the table clash when the qualifiers resume in June while Togo will host eSwatini.
