Burkina Faso continued with their push to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup following a convincing 4-1 victory against Djibouti in their Group A fixture on Friday.
During the contest at Stade El Abdi, the Stallions started the game forcefully putting pressure on Djibouti and should have scored as early as the third minute when they missed a glorious chance from a free-kick.
As the game progressed, Djibouti continued to defend and tried to take the pressure off Burkina Faso. It was a difficult start for the visitors, who struggled a bit in the defensive zone as they were unable to move the ball forward easily.
In the 12th minute, Burkina Faso finally scored the opener after Josué Tiendrebeogo’s right-footed effort from outside the area took a deflection and Djibouti goalkeeper Sulait Luyima failed to stop the ball which hit the back of the net.
In the 16th minute, the match was halted for treatment of a Burkina Faso player, who apparently was not able to continue on the field. The home team continued to have a great first half, enjoying ball possession and attacking for more goals.
In the 36th minute, Burkina Faso doubled their lead after a great individual move by Bertrand Traoré, after receiving a superb assist from Lassina Traoré, enabled him to dribble past a Djibouti defender before firing a powerful shot past the outstretched hands of the Djibouti goalkeeper.
At the start of the second half, it was 3-0 for Burkina Faso, a serious error in the defensive area allowing the ball to reach Mohamed Zoungrana, who reacted quickly to slot it past Luyima, for a great start for the home team after resumption.
After assisting the second goal, Traore inscribed his name in the scorers chart after he finished off a cross from Dango Ouattara to make it 4-0 in the 67th minute. After the goal, the intensity of the match calmed down, and Burkina Faso resorted to moving the ball all over the field in a bid to run down the clock and get closer to winning the qualifier.
With the clock running down, Djibouti grabbed a consolation when they were awarded a penalty in the 88th minute and up stepped Samuel Akinbinu, who sent goalkeeper Herve Koffi the wrong way. However, the goal could not deny Burkina Faso their second win of the campaign as they moved second on the group table with eight points from five matches.
Burkina Faso starting XI: Hervé Koffi, Issoufou Dayo, Adamo Nagalo, Saidou Simporé, Issa Kaboré, Josué Tiendrebeogo, Mohamed Zougrana, Steeve Yago, Dango Ouattara, Lassina Traoré, and Bertrand Traoré.
Djibouti starting XI: Sulait Luyima, Moustapha Abdi, Yonis Kireh, Moussa Araita, Ahmed Zakaria, Doualeh Mahamou, Abdi Idleh Hamza, Ibrahim Idriss, Mouad Mahamed, Samuel Akinbinu, Gabriel Dadzie.