Africa: We Have to Finish in Style, Says Burkina Faso's Coach Traore

17 May 2023
Confederation of African Football (Giza)

Burkina Faso head coach Brahima Traore has said his team intends to finish their TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign in Algeria in style as they aim to go back home with a bronze medal from Thursday's third and fourth play-off in Annaba.

Burkina Faso's dream of a second title in the tournament was put off after losing 5-4 on penalties to Senegal in the semi-finals on Sunday in Algiers.

"Of course it was a disappointment for us not to achieve the second of our targets which is to win the trophy. We couldn't make it and now we have another medal to play for. The players are motivated to get the bronze medal because we want it to be a memory for them," said the tactician as he spoke on Wednesday in the pre-match press conference.

Striker Souleumane Alio says as much, that the players are focused to go home with something to add on to their World Cup qualification.

"We will give our all to go back home with a bronze medal and make the people of Burkina Faso happy. I missed a crucial penalty and naturally as a competitor, it was painful. But as a player, you need to take in both the good times and bad times and move forward," Alio said.

Coach Traore says they have prepared well for the meeting and have had time to get themselves psychologically and physically ready, after recovering from the grueling semi-final in the capital.

"We gave the players rest yesterday (Tuesday) because we travelled and also played a very tough match and also hadn't had enough time to recover. We needed them to be well rested and physically ready because it is another difficult match ahead of us," said the coach.

He added; "For us, every match is a final and this will be the same too. We will go hard and try to get a result."

Burkina Faso lost to Mali 1-0 in the group stages and they will look to make amends, with a better performance and possibly a stab at victory.

However, coach Traore says they are not looking at the match as a possible route for revenge, but rather looking to finish the tournament in style and give the players some morale boosting send off.

Read the original article on CAF.

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