Preview: Djibouti vs Burkina Faso - prediction, team news, lineups

Group A minnows Djibouti will be looking to secure their first World Cup qualifying victory at the seventh time of asking in Friday's meeting against Burkina Faso at Estadio 24 de Setembro.

Having won each of the previous three editions of this fixture, Burkina Faso will be confident of maintaining their perfect record and taking one step closer towards keeping their World Cup dream alive.

Match preview

Finishing two points behind Algeria, Burkina Faso narrowly came up short in the penultimate phase of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, and four points from the first two matches this time around have sparked optimism for another serious challenge.

Brama Traore's men have since featured at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, suffering a last-16 exit to Mali, before also securing their place at next January's continental showpiece in Morocco.

Les Etalons have not participated in three straight major international tournaments and now have the chance to end that streak in grand style with a first-ever World Cup berth.

Currently on 11 points from six matches, Burkina Faso are likely to have to go through the long route as they trail Egypt by five points heading into the final four games, meaning that top spot in the group is increasingly unlikely.

This would see the West Africans have to finish as one of the four group runners-up with the most points, a very achievable objective given the fact that Cameroon's 12 points are the second-most of any team in that category at the moment.

With a huge assignment against Egypt to come four days later, anything less than a victory for Burkina Faso on Friday would be unideal with Sierra Leone breathing down their neck.

After a disastrous showing in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, where they were beaten in all six matches and conceded 29 goals, Djibouti headed into the 2026 qualifiers with much room for improvement and would have been buoyed by friendly victories over Mauritius and Pakistan before their opening encounter against Egypt.

Thanks in no small part to a four-goal haul from Mohamed Salah, Stephane Nado's men went on to lose 6-0 against Egypt on November 16, four days before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Guinea-Bissau.

Riverains de la Mer Rouge were knocked out of the preliminary stages of the AFCON qualifiers in their next competitive outing, courtesy of a 5-0 aggregate loss against Liberia.

June's round of qualifying matches finally saw Djibouti record their first World Cup qualifying point in a 1-1 draw against Ethiopia, which, however, came either side of defeats against Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia above.

Djibouti's tally of 20 goals conceded is the second-most of any team behind Seychelles' 34, and it is hardly surprising that the East Africans are bottom of Group A, a whopping 15 points shy of leaders Egypt.

Winning just one of their last eight matches in all competitions, Djibouti will need to avoid going behind - especially early on - to stand any chance of pulling off a shock win.

Djibouti World Cup Qualifying - Africa form:

Djibouti form (all competitions):

Burkina Faso World Cup Qualifying - Africa form:

Burkina Faso form (all competitions):

Team News

Having scored all of Djibouti's four World Cup qualifying goals between themselves, Gabriel Dadzie and Samuel Akinbinu will once again be deployed in attack.

Sulait Luyima has established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper for his country and is expected to fend off competition from Omar Mohamed Mahamoud to feature between the sticks.

Bertrand Traore is without an appearance this season, having only just completed a deadline-day move to Premier League outfit Sunderland, but his inclusion in the Burkina Faso squad is by no means a surprise.

Lassina Traore underwent surgery back in August to address a quadriceps injury and is expected to be sidelined for a significant spell.

Djibouti possible starting lineup:

Luyima, Mohamed, Abdi, Araita, Farada; Siad, Elabeh, Aden, Elmi; Dadzie, Akinbinu

Burkina Faso possible starting lineup:

Koffi; Kabore, Nagalo, Djiga, Yago; Zougrana, Simpore; Ouattara, Badolo, Traore; Konate