AFCON: Burkina Faso determined to make the difference – Brama Traoré

Burkina Faso head coach Brama Traoré has revealed their desire to fight for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title after they sealed their place in the Round of 16 in Morocco.

The Stallions bounced back from their defeat to Algeria by producing a controlled 2-0 victory over Sudan to confirm second place in Group E.

Goals from Lassina Traoré and Arsène Kouassi ensured the Stallions finished the group stage with six points, three behind group winners Algeria, while Sudan progressed despite defeat, their earlier results already enough to secure a Round of 16 berth.

Burkina Faso trying to stand out in Round of 16

“We are trying to stand out in the knockout stages. We must continue our work, move forward, and inscribe a golden star on the Burkina Faso national team’s jersey. Our players are determined to make the difference and to achieve good results in this edition of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations,” Traoré told the media as quoted by CAFOnline.com.

“What matters to us are the results and the fact that we are representing our country. Before the match, we were already more focused on preparing for the Round of 16. We had to rotate the squad for the match against Sudan, and we decided to rest some players ahead of the next round.”

Burkina Faso forward Kouassi, who was feted with man of the match award, said: “I am happy to have been named Man of the Match. It was a difficult game against Sudan, but we managed to achieve our objective.

“We will try to keep this momentum going into the upcoming matches. I always work hard and I am happy to be taking part in this tournament and to have scored against Sudan.

“I have big goals to achieve and I will give even more of myself. I will not stop here; I will continue working to reach the objectives of our national team. We will fight hard in the Round of 16, because we have a goal to achieve.”

The result confirmed Burkina Faso’s progression in second place, while Sudan finished third on three points and now await their Round of 16 fate as one of the qualified teams from Group E. Burkina Faso will now face Ivory Coast while Sudan will come up against Senegal at Grand Stade de Tangier on Saturday.

AFCON Round of 16 fixtures;

Saturday, 3 January 2026
Senegal vs Sudan
17h00 local time / 16h00 GMT
Grand Stade de Tangier

Mali vs Tunisia
20h00 local time / 19h00 GMT
Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca

Sunday, 4 January 2026
Morocco vs Tanzania
17h00 local time / 16h00 GMT
Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah, Rabat

South Africa vs Cameroon
20h00 local time / 19h00 GMT
Stade Al Medina, Rabat

Monday, 5 January 2026
Egypt vs Benin
17h00 local time / 16h00 GMT
Grand Stade de Agadir

Nigeria vs Mozambique
20h00 local time / 19h00 GMT
Complexe Sportif de Fès

Tuesday, 6 January 2026
Algeria vs DR Congo
17h00 local time / 16h00 GMT
Stade Prince Heritier Moulay El Hassan, Rabat