AFCON 2015: Burkina Faso’s Biggest Obstacles in Advancing from Group A

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: December 19, 2014

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With less than 30 days to go until AFCON 2015 kicks off, teams from across Africa are eyeing up their opponents, plotting and scheming to work out their best route out of their respective groups, and onto continental glory. After dazzling their way to the final in the last edition of the tournament, Burkina Faso will be evaluating how they can produce similar success this time round—without the "surprise" factor they had last time. 

Drawn in Group A, the people at the Burkinabe federation must have been rubbing their hands together at the draw their country received, as they missed out on all the big guns to garner themselves a relatively easy group. Sitting alongside Gabon, Congo and the hosts Equatorial Guinea, a glance at Group C—the tournament's official "Group of Death"—shows you how much worse it could have been for The Stallions.

However, this group is arguably a bigger challenge than it would seem, with the windy road out of Group A littered with challenges at every turn.

Playing a superb brand of attacking football, AFCON 2013 was where Burkina Faso truly announced themselves to the world of football, as they floated through to the final in South Africa—only to be beaten by continental giants Nigeria. As noted by Jonathan Wilson for Betfair, they were seen as minnows at the start of this competition, and since have asserted themselves as one of the premier teams in Africa.

With no real "big names" to speak of, they go against the traditional model of an African national team with a winning formula based on a strong team mentality, rather than a single big ego.

Whilst of course they have their star players, with AFCON 2013 Player of the Tournament Jonathan Pitroipa's incredible record of 11 goals in the last 17 games particularly notable, the manager Paul Put has got a perfect blend of talent and players who complement one another.

Indeed, Put himself re...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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