Ghana were looked upon as one of the favourites for the Africa Cup of Nations 2017, but they could not cross the Cameroon hurdle in the semi-finals of the competition. Hence, they will aim to finish third as they face Burkina Faso in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
Ghana will start this third-place match as favourites. Even their head-to-head record in Afcon reflect Ghana's dominance. They have met four times in the past, with Ghana winning three matches.
With quality players in Ghana's rank, one fails to understand about their failure against Cameroon, but they should forget about the past and move ahead. Top players like Jordan Ayew, Andre Ayew, Asamoah Gyan and Christian Atsu will hope to inspire their team to a huge win over Burkina Faso to head home with smiles on their faces.
Though the third-place finish might not have been their objective before Afcon 2017 started, Ghana will be happy to head back home with some reward from the competition. Ghana's coach Avram Grant's future is also in doubt now, but he does not want to think about it. He wants to clinch the third place, and believes that the team has the potential to achieve greater things in the future.
"My future is not important now. What matters now is that we lost after a very good tournament. It's not the dream of our life to play this game (third-place play-off) but if we have to play it we will," espn.in quoted Grant as saying.
"We didn't win the cup but we have had a good tournament. It is a good generation, a new generation, and I think they will win a lot of titles.''
Like Ghana, Burkina Faso, who have been the surprise package in Afcon 2017, will also aim to finish third. With both teams desperate to win, expect a close encounter. Burkina Faso may have well already exceeded expectations, but that does not mean they will take it easy against Ghana.
After having done so well, their aim will be leave the Afcon on a high. They will depend on in-form player Aristide Bance for goals. Burkina Faso can still take inspiration from their last match, where they tested Egypt to the hilt and took them the full distance – to penalties. They were visibly hurt after their penalty loss.
Burkina Faso have shown great character so far in the competition, and play well within their limitations, which has worked wonders for them so far. However, Ghana, who are disappointed with their loss to Cameroon, will be keen to dominate Burkina Faso, and clinch the third place.
Where to watch live
Ghana vs Burkina Faso AFCON match is scheduled for a 12:30am IST (7:00pm GMT, 2:00pm ET) start. Live Streaming and TV information.
India: TV: No live coverage.
Africa: TV: SuperSport 6 Africa. Live Streaming: SuperSport live video.
UK: TV: EuroSport 2 UK. Live Streaming: EuroSport Player.
Australia, Canada, US: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
