Burkina Faso beat 10-woman Tanzania to claim first TotalEnergies WAFCON win

Burkina Faso claimed their first ever victory at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after beating 10-woman Tanzania 2-1 in a dramatic Group B match at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Friday night. Adele Kabre gave the Lady Stallions the lead shortly before half-time, but Tanzania responded in the second half through Aisha Mnunka despite playing most of the period with 10 players following the sending-off of Hasnath Ubamba. Bilkissa Sawadogo then struck in the 80th minute to give Burkina Faso a historic win and revive their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals, CAF reports.

The result leaves Group B wide open after South Africa drew 2-2 with Côte d’Ivoire in the earlier match. Côte d’Ivoire remain top with four points, Tanzania are second with three, Burkina Faso also have three, while South Africa sit bottom with one point. Burkina Faso came into the match under pressure after losing 4-1 to Côte d’Ivoire in their opening game.

They needed a positive result to keep their campaign alive and started with greater determination against a Tanzania side that had beaten South Africa 2-1 in their first match. Tanzania had gone into the game knowing victory could take them a major step towards a historic quarter-final place, but Burkina Faso were more decisive in the first half. The breakthrough came in the 43rd minute when Kabre found the net to give the Lady Stallions a 1-0 lead.

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It was a crucial goal for Burkina Faso, who had been searching for their first win in the competition after one draw and three defeats in their previous TotalEnergies WAFCON matches. The match changed early in the second half when Tanzania were reduced to 10 players. Ubamba, who had scored the late winner against South Africa in the opening game, was shown a red card in the 55th minute.

It was a major setback for the Twiga Stars, who were already trailing and now had to chase the match with one player fewer. In the 62nd minute, Mnunka equalised to make it 1-1 and give her team hope of extending their unbeaten start to the tournament.

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