The Africa Cup of Nations returns on Wednesday evening for the semifinal stage of the competition. The first last-four clash will pit 2013 finalists Burkina Faso against 2019 finalists Senegal at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé.Both teams have been impressive in the tournament so far. In the quarters, Burkina Faso put in an all-round excellent performance to see off Tunisia while Senegal managed to see off a spirited Equatorial-Guinea side to set up a mouth-watering semis match in Yaoundé.5.50 Burkina Faso 2.90 Senegal 1.90 The two teams have met four times at the African Cup of Nations. Senegal have won the tie twice, the Burkinabe once while other match ended in a draw. The last three meetings (World Cup qualifiers and friendly game) however have all ended in draws.I spent the morning chatting to this AFCON Cult hero. The legend that is Aristide Bance. We chatted all things Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 ahead of their semi-final v Senegal 🇸🇳 tomorrow @BBCAfrica @BBCWorld #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/s9LIcSQIYQ— Mimi Fawaz (@MimosaFawaz) February 1, 2022 Senegal were boosted by the return of Ismaila Sarr from injury, he made his first appearance of the tournament off the bench against Equatorial-Guinea and went ahead to score a goal. Burkina Faso, on the other hand, will be without young forward, Dango Ouattara who scored their lone goal against Tunisia, he saw red in the later stages of the game ruling him out of the tournament.Burkina Faso coach, Kamou Malo says the pressure is on Senegal heading into the game. He opines that his team has already achieved their goal at the biannual showpiece.“Personally, I achieved my goal, but as a competitor, I aim to win the trophy next Sunday. We are determined to go all the way to win the title. Against Senegal, a great footballing country, we have to be ourselves. The main thing is to play our usual game,” he stated.Senegal’s Aliou Cisse admits that Burkina Faso is a great team but is determined to reach the final for the second time in a row and hopefully end the nation’s wait for an African Cup of Nations title.Burkina Faso Commercial Bank will give #TeamBurkinaFaso USD $170,000 if they beat Senegal 🇸🇳 and make it to the final to win the 2021 AFCON trophy! 🏆 They gave the team USD $85,000 for making the semis.#AFCON2021 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/A7CpuELCrn— #AFCON2021 ✪ (@MickyJnr__) February 1, 2022 “We prepared well for our semi-final against Burkina Faso, even if we didn’t have a lot of time. We focused on recovery. We know the Burkina Faso team well; they remain a good team that is progressing with good players. We are expecting a difficult match, but we are ready. I am thinking of doing everything to pass this milestone of the semi-finals. We hope and work to win this African title. We have never doubted our abilities. Our desire is to play the grand final on February 6th,” he stated.The match starts at 10 PM (EAT).
