U-17 AFCON: Clinical Burkina Faso punish Zambia

Photo Credit: @CAF_Online/X

Burkina Faso ran away from Zambia on Thursday at the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, thrashing the Young Chipolopolo by a 6-1 score to advance to the semifinals of the competition hosted by Morocco.

Ashraf Tapsoba scored a hat-trick and Halidou Diakité scored twice for Burkina Faso, who encountered a strong Zambian team but capitalized on all opportunities with ruthless efficiency. Direct play reigned supreme in Thursday's opening quarterfinal as the Stallion Cadets snatched the lead through Mohamed Fofana's header in the 11th minute from an Abdoul Ouédraogo cross.

Zambia created a couple of excellent opportunities in the following minutes but failed to take advantage, setting the stage for more frustration. A reckless sliding challenge in the Zambian penalty area resulted in a penalty kick for the Burkinabe team and Tapsoba's spot kick snuck by Zambian goalkeeper Rogers Simumba.

Abel Nyirongo gave the Zambian team hope by pulling one back with a poacher's finish in the 35th minute to make the score 2-1 at halftime. However, that was as good as it got for Zambia as Diakité scored twice in ten minutes to demoralize the Zambian team. Too many costly errors negated multiple positive spells which the Burkinabe team was all too happy to punish.

Another penalty kick from Tapsoba was followed by the tournament's leading scorer taking advantage of a poor backpass to complete his hat-trick in the 90th minute. Burkina Faso will face the winner of Friday's quarterfinal between Mali and Tunisia in the semifinals on April 15.