Burkina Faso booked their place in the Africa Cup of Nations final for the first time in their history, edging past four-time champions Ghana to win a penalty shootout in their semi-final clash at Mbombela Stadium on Wednesday night.

Mubarak Wakaso scored from the penalty spot in the 13th minute to give Ghana the early lead, and Aristide Bance netted the equaliser for the Burkinabe from the edge of the area on the hour mark as the sides were left all square at 1-1 at the end of regulation time.

With no more goals scored after 30 minutes of additional time, Burkina Faso secured a 3-2 victory in the spot-kick decider.

Jonathan Pitroipa was sent off in the 117th minute, after he was shown a second yellow card, reducing Burkina Faso to 10 men, but his side held on in his absence in the dying stages.

The Burkinabe, ranked a lowly 92nd in the world, will face Nigeria, who thumped Mali 4-1 in the earlier semi-final in Durban, in Sunday’s tournament finale at the National Stadium in Johannesburg.

Ghana will play Mali in the third-place playoff in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.