Sunderland winger Traore yearns for AFCON title with Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso and Sunderland FC forward Bertrand Traoré has explained what he hopes to achieve at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals underway in Morocco.

A dramatic start for Bertrand Traoré at #AFCON2025 🤯

©️ Captain Traoré plays 80 minutes
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso score twice in stoppage time
✅ 2-1 winners over Equatorial Guinea pic.twitter.com/eL3yi6Axkz

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) December 24, 2025

Earlier, Stallions coach Brama Traoré set an ambitious target of reaching the final of AFCON, but the former Aston Villa player wants the ultimate prize.

The 30-year-old winger told the Premier League club’s website that he hopes to finally win the continental competition having come close in 2013 when the West Africans reached the final.

“I am excited, but there is also pressure. This is going to be my sixth AFCON and I want to win at least one before I retire from the national team,” Traoré said.

“In the last edition, I had a lot of pressure because we wanted to win it but we didn’t. I am going into it with big ambition but a lot of pressure. It’s a positive pressure so I love it.”

The Stallions began their campaign with a 2-1 win over 10-man Equatorial Guinea. Their next game will be against Algeria on Sunday followed by their final Group E clash against Sudan next Wednesday. The Algerians eased to a 3-0 victory over Sudan on Wednesday to go top of the group.

What role is Traoré playing in Burkina Faso’s squad

The former Aston Villa attacker also explained the role he is playing in the national team, drawing from his experience having made 85 appearances and scored 21 goals.

“I’ve been captain of this team for four years. I have it because of my experience and the trust from everyone around the team. It’s always special. To be able to play six times, that’s 12 years. It’s something amazing,” he added.

“I try to give this experience to the young guys in the team and the country. We just want to do the job together, not just me.”

The attacker is among six Sunderland players at the AFCON finals alongside Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Noah Sadiki and Arthur Masuaku (Democratic Republic of Congo).