Burkina Faso's dream run at Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) 2017 continued as they beat Tunisia 2-0 in the first quarter-final at Stade de l'Amitié in Libreville, Gabon, on Saturday (January 28). In the second quarter-final played at Stade de Franceville, Franceville, Senegal lost to Cameroon 4-5 in the penalty shootout.
Also read: FA Cup fourth round results
Burkina Faso stormed into the semifinals, thanks to two late goals from Astride Bance and Prejuce Nakoulma, and are just two matches away from their maiden Afcon title. Bance, who came on as a substitute, gave Burkina Faso the lead from a free-kick at the 81st minute. Prejuce Nakoulma sealed his team's victory on a counter-attack after Tunisia pushed all their players forward looking for an equaliser. He avoided a tackle from Tunisian goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi and netted the ball with just five minutes to go.
Burkina Faso, however, could have taken the lead right before half-time after Nakoulma fired a shot from 12 yards but it went over the target. Bertrand Traore also had a chance towards the end of the first half but his delicately placed chip hit the top of the bar.
The best chance for Tunisia came from a corner kick by Taha Yassine Khenissi whose perfect shot fell to Aymen Abdennour but he could not finish off the task with a proper header. Mohamed Ali Yacoubi also had a chance to get Tunisia back into the game but his shot narrowly missed the post.
The second match saw four time champions Cameroon and Senegal play out a 0-0 draw till the end of the extra time. In the penalty shootout that followed, Cameroon had a cent per cent success but Senegal's Sadio Mane failed to score, seeing his team crash out of the competition.
The Liverpool star has been a driving force for Senegal this tournament scoring in two of their group matches but he could not step up to the plate when required. Senegal had a number of chances throughout the match to take the lead but they just could not capitalise.
Both Cheikhou Kouyate and Mame Biram Diouf had chances in the first half with Kouyate heading over the bar and Diouf's lobbed attempt just missing the goal. Senegal keeper Diallo ensured the match went into the tie-breaker after he made a fine stop to deny Jacques Zoua a goal in extra time.
With those results, Burkina Faso will now take on Egypt or Morocco in their semifinal encounter while Cameroon has set up a date with either DR Congo or Ghana in their last-four match.
