Burkina Faso AFCON 2024 squad, fixtures and opponents

The Stallions of Burkina Faso will be making their 13th AFCON appearance since making their debut in 1978 at Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024).

Do note, this year's competition is officially named AFCON 2023 since it was initially scheduled to take place last year but was postponed until January-February 2024.

Burkina Faso AFCON 2024 schedule

Under the leadership of Hubert Velud, Burkina Faso are placed in the same group as Algeria, Angola and Mauritania. Burkina Faso will engage Mauritania in their opening game on January 16 before playing Algeria four days later and crown their group stage games with a game against Angola.

16 January 3pm: Burkina Faso – Mauritania, Bouaké Stadium
20 January 6pm: Algeria – Burkina Faso, Bouaké Stadium
23 January 6pm: Angola – Burkina Faso, Charles-Konan-Banny Stadium

How did Burkina Faso qualify for AFCON 2024?

In Group B of the AFCON 2024 qualifiers, Burkina Faso emerged as the top team in a group that included Eswatini, Togo, and Cape Verde. They secured a total of 11 points, winning three matches, drawing two, and suffering one defeat on their way to Cote d'Ivoire.

Day 1 : Burkina Faso-Cape Verde (2-0)
Day 2 : Eswatini-Burkina Faso (1-3)
Day 3 : Burkina Faso-Togo (1-0)
Day 4 : Togo-Burkina Faso (1-1)
Day 5 : Cape Verde-Burkina Faso (3-1)
Day 6 : Burkina Faso-Eswatini (0-0)

Burkina Faso's last 10 games before AFCON 2024

In their last ten games, the Stallions have won four, drawn four, and with two defeats.

Ethiopia-Burkina Faso (0-3) – 2026 World Cup Qualifiers
Burkina Faso-Guinea-Bissau (1-1) – 2026 World Cup Qualifiers
Mauritania-Burkina Faso (1-2) – Friendly
Equatorial Guinea-Burkina Faso (0-0) – Friendly
Morocco-Burkina Faso (1-0) – Friendly
Burkina Faso-Eswatini (0-0) – CAN 2023 Qualifiers
Cape Verde-Burkina Faso (3-1) – CAN 2023 Qualifiers
Togo-Burkina Faso (1-1) – CAN 2023 Qualifiers
Burkina Faso-Togo (1-0) – CAN 2023 Qualifiers
Burkina Faso-Ivory Coast (2-1) – Friendly

Burkina Faso, the surprise package at AFCON 2024?

The West Africans achieved second and third place in two of their last four AFCON appearances, being the runners-up to Nigeria in 2013 and securing victory over Ghana in the play-off for third place in 2017.

The Stallions also qualified for five consecutive AFCON finals from 2010 to 2017, their best streak of successive qualifications, before missing out on the 2019 tournament. After making their debut in 1978, they had to wait until 1996, a span of 18 years, to make another appearance in the tournament.

Having placed fourth in Cameroon two years ago, Burkina Faso are naturally among the top teams once again. It’s been a roller-coaster season for most of their players but this is a nation with an abundance of talent who are just craving an opportunity to have their names etched in the country’s football folklore.

They are a resilient counter-attacking unit with several familiar forwards like Bertrand Traoré and Dango Ouattara exciting youngsters like Abdoul Fessal Tapsoba, Cedric Badolo and Hassane Bande.

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Their manager: Hubert Velud

At the age of 64, the Stallions are fortunate to have the experienced guidance of Hubert Velud on the sidelines. Assigned with the responsibility of qualifying Burkina Faso for the AFCON, the Frenchman effortlessly accomplished this task.

He brings a wealth of experience in African football, having managed the Togo and Sudan national teams, as well as club sides such as Etoile du Sahel, USM Alger, TP Mazembe, Stade Tunisien, among others.

Photo by Icon sport

Player to watch: Bertrand Traoré

With that in mind, we assess one player who can make things thick for Burkina Faso. Bertrand Traoré is the said player. The 28-year-old comes into the tournament as Burkina Faso’s star, and as one of the players to watch at the entire AFCON—provided he’s able to perform at full capacity after his nagging injury issues at his club Aston Villa.

As one of the experienced heads of the team, Traoré has scored 17 goals in 75 appearances for the national team. He has traversed Europe with playing stints in France, England, Netherlands and Turkey.

Traore is a player with intelligence, but at times, his decision-making is lacking. He tends to make the wrong decision by attempting to dribble into heavy traffic or choosing to dribble when a simple pass would create space. Nevertheless, Traore possesses strong dribbling skills, good close control, and impressive speed when carrying the ball.