CHAN: Balbone outlines Burkina Faso’s weak areas despite CAR win

Burkina Faso coach Issa Balbone has spotted areas his side must improve on despite registering a 4-2 win against Central African Republic in their TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Tanzania on Wednesday.

Despite the emphatic victory, which helped the Stallions recover from their 2-0 opening defeat against hosts Tanzania, Balbone admitted he was not impressed with his defensive line which conceded two goals.

“I believe we need to work a lot, especially on the defensive aspect. Our backline wasn’t solid against the Central African Republic, and that worries us. We will work on that area,” he said after the game.

“We saw in this match a group of players with determination and drive. They bounced back in both performance and result. We needed to win this match, and we did. There was a lot of pressure on these young players before the game.”

Balbone added: “I believe we are now mentally ready, and we will soon reach our true level. The playing style will follow. In this match, we simply needed to win. As I mentioned before, we were suffering from fatigue. The players needed to recover from exhaustion.”

The outcome breathed life into Burkina Faso’s Group B journey and ensured that qualification for the quarter-finals remained within reach.