Uganda’s qualifying opponent Burkina Faso hopes to continue their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations dream by beating The Cranes’ finals group mate, Egypt today in the tournament’s first semi-final game.
The Stallions beat Tunisia 2-0 in the quarter final stage, and now have a chance to better their best ever AFCOB performance, which came in the 2013 edition in South Africa when they finished second after losing to Nigeria in the finals.
Burkina Faso’s coach Paulo Duarte said he is confident his team can overcome a star-studded Egypt to reach the finals where they could face either Ghana or Cameroon.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the tactician dismissed claims that his charges would be no match for Egypt’s star players like AS Roma’s Mohamed Salah, Hull City’s Ahmed El Mohamady and Excel Mouscron’s Mahmoud Hassan.
The Portuguese said his team are well up to the task ahead, and that they also have stars that the Egyptian side should rightly fear, like Malaga’s Bakary Koné and Bertrand Traoré who plays for Ajax, on loan from Chelsea.
The game will be played at 10pm Ugandan time.