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

As hostilities in the group phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations gradually wind down, Sudan and Burkina Faso will battle for the second automatic qualification ticket in Group E at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca on Wednesday.

Both sides have three points apiece heading into this contest, with Burkina Faso sitting second by virtue of goal difference, while the Falcons of Jediane are third in the table.

Match preview

Sudan opened their Nations Cup campaign in an unimpressive fashion, falling to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of fellow North Africans Algeria.

Knowing their chances of progress in the competition are dependent on the outcome of their second group encounter, Kwesi Appiah’s men ensured they claimed all three points against Equatorial Guinea with the help of an own goal in the second 45 minutes of the fixture.

That win is only their second in 14 fixtures in Africa’s biggest football tournament since they emerged as champions on home soil in 1970, recording three draws and nine losses in that time.

More importantly, the victory means that the Sudanese are still in the running for an automatic qualification place ahead of their final game against Burkina Faso on Wednesday.

Being a straight shoot-out, Appiah’s men know that a victory will take them over the line, but a draw will be adequate to keep them in the mix as one of the top four third-placed teams at the end of the group stage.

Another possible source of confidence for the North Africans is their 2-1 victory over Wednesday’s opponents in the 2012 edition of the competition.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Algeria in their penultimate group stage match, leaving them second in Group E.

That outcome snapped their seven-game unbeaten run across all competitions, which included six victories and a draw.

Nevertheless, they remain frontrunners for the second automatic ticket in the group, given that they won their first game in the competition and currently enjoy a better goal difference than Sudan.

Should they emerge as winners on Wednesday, the Stallions will book their place in the round of 16 for the fourth consecutive time, while a loss will see them wait anxiously to see if they will make it as one of the best third-placed teams after the first round.

Going by the pedigree of the Stallions, the Burkinabes should not have many problems navigating the challenge posed by the Sudanese.

Sudan Africa Cup of Nations form:

Sudan form (all competitions):

Burkina Faso Africa Cup of Nations form:

Burkina Faso form (all competitions):

Team News

There are no new injury cases for either side as they look forward to their final and most important group game.

For Sudan, Salaheldin Alhassan is available once more after missing Sunday’s encounter due to suspension.

Monged Elneel should continue in goal after his decent performance against the Nzalang Nacional on Sunday.

Brama Traore could keep faith with the team that started their last match against Algeria, given that they did almost everything right at the start of the game but fell short of keeping the Algerians from scoring the only goal of the encounter.

Having said that, first-choice goalkeeper Herve Koffi should maintain his position between the sticks.

In defence, the quartet of Steve Yago, Issoufou Dayo, Edmond Tapsoba and Arsene Kouassi should form the protective wall in front of Koffi.

Up front, Bertrand Traore, Pierre Kabore and Dango Ouattara, who has one assist in the competition already, should be named as the front three.

Sudan possible starting lineup:

Elneel; Barglan, Saeed Ahmed, Karshom, Khamis; Khidir, Omer, Taifour; Abdallah, Eisa, Abdelrahman

Burkina Faso possible starting lineup:

Koffi; Yago, Dayo, Tapsoba, Kouassi; Sangare, Ouedraogo, Zougrana; Traore, Kabore, Ouattara

We say: Sudan 0-2 Burkina Faso

Sudan showed determination and grit in their last outing to claim a hard-fought 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea, but Burkina Faso is a bigger team with more quality. With that in mind, the Burkinabes are good value for a win, especially given that a victory should secure their place in the next round. Hence, we are backing Burkina Faso to win 2-0.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.