Preview: Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea - prediction, team news, lineups

Familiar deep runners Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea will kick off their Africa Cup of Nations campaigns in Group E as the two nations square off at the Mohammed V Stadium on Wednesday.

Both sides aim to improve on their round-of-16 finishes in the previous edition, though the Stallions have reached at least the semi-finals in three of their last five continental appearances, while Nzalang Nacional claimed a quarter-final berth in three of four prior participations.

Match preview

With one of the competition’s favourites in Algeria also drawn in Group E, Burkina Faso will look to seize an early advantage against a side widely tipped to be their closest challenger for progression, though Sudan cannot be overlooked.

Not among the tournament’s biggest names, the Stallions nevertheless boast a respectable AFCON pedigree, having finished on the podium twice in their last five appearances — losing the 2013 final to Nigeria before defeating Ghana in the third-place playoff four years later.

Burkina have since featured in two editions, finishing fourth in 2021 before exiting at the round-of-16 stage against Mali in 2023, and will again target a routine passage into the knockout rounds.

That ambition places added emphasis on starting strongly, yet history offers mixed signals, with Burkina having won just one of their previous 13 AFCON openers — albeit that lone success came in the last campaign.

The Stallions can be confident of repeating that feat, buoyed by victories in five of their last six outings (D1) across all competitions, while scoring exactly three goals in each of their most recent three matches.

Brama Traore’s side began that scoring run with a 3–1 victory over Ethiopia in their final World Cup qualifier — a result that ultimately proved insufficient as they missed out on the playoffs by the narrowest of margins — before posting further wins over Niger (3–2) and the Republic of Benin (3–0) in friendly encounters.

Equatorial Guinea, by contrast, arrive with far less momentum, managing just two wins in their last nine matches, one of the defeats in that sequence stemming from a forfeited World Cup qualifier against Malawi.

Nzalang Nacional eventually finished fifth in their qualifying group after a 1–1 draw with Liberia and have since split results in two friendlies, edging Kenya 1–0 before falling 2–0 to Madagascar in mid-November.

Despite that modest buildup, the Equatoguineans remain a side capable of punching above their weight; even their round-of-16 exit last time represented their earliest departure across four tournament appearances, and they still made a strong impression in the group phase.

Drawn alongside eventual finalists Nigeria and hosts Ivory Coast, Nzalang Nacional topped the group with seven points, highlighted by a famous 4–0 victory over the Elephants, and will look to make a positive opening statement, though their last three tournament curtain-raisers have produced no victories (D2, L1).

An unfavourable record in his fixture suggests that winless streak could continue for Equatorial Guinea, who have failed to record victories in any of their previous three meetings with Burkina, losing once and failing to score in any of those encounters.

Burkina Faso form (all competitions):

Equatorial Guinea form (all competitions):

Team News

Burkina Faso’s 25-man squad features several Europe-based players, with Sunderland winger Bertrand Traore captaining the side and expected to play a key role in attack.

Dango Ouattara has impressed since his move to Brentford and is likely to operate from the left flank, while Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba will marshal the defence and Herve Koffi is expected to start in goal.

Equatorial Guinea head coach Juan Micha, reinstated after a brief suspension following the Malawi boycott, has also named a 25-man squad.

That includes team captain and leading scorer from the previous edition, Emilio Nsue, who will look to add to his national record of 22 goals.

Meanwhile, Jesus Owono should start between the posts, while Saul Coco and Esteban Obiang could partner at the heart of defence.

Burkina Faso possible starting lineup:

Koffi; Kabore, Tapsoba, Djiga, Kouassi; Zougrana; Ouattara, Ouedraogo, I Toure, Irie; B Traore

Equatorial Guinea possible starting lineup:

Owono; Akapo, Obiang, Coco, Ndong; Ganet, Eneme; Asue, Salvador, Nabil; Nsue

We say: Burkina Faso 1-0 Equatorial Guinea

Despite Burkina’s free-scoring run, a tighter contest is expected given the low-scoring nature of previous meetings, though the Stallions’s momentum and slight historical edge point towards a narrow opening-day victory.

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