Tag: Burkina Faso

Iran beats Burkina Faso in Kish Island.

Team Melli defeated the West-African team Burkina Faso 2-1 in a closely contested match on Friday evening in Kish Island in a full capacity Olympic Stadium.

The guest opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Saman Ghoddos was robbed in front of the Iran goal for Konate to beat the outstretched Beiranvand with a low powerful strike. Mehdi Taremi equalized in the 42nd minute after a scramble in front of Burkina Faso’s goal. Omid Ebrahimi scored Iran’s winner in the 71st minute as a result of another scramble inside the box.

It was a tale of two teams as Ghalenoei changed the entire 11 players that have started the match with a new team plus a couple more substitutions in the second half. Despite a slow start by Iranian players, the guest showed aggression and pace that managed to disturb the rhythm of Team Melli passing game. Like usual, the middle of the park was ineffective with Saeid Ezatolahi once again raising question marks about his standard and suitability to operate as a holding midfielder In Team Melli. Errors in passing and lacking accuracy has marred his performance in this half. While Ghoddos was less not as effective as usual in the role of playmaker. The two other midfielders cum-wingers Mohebbi and Jahanbakhash failed to make an impact on the match.

Despite those deficiencies, Team Melli managed to threaten their gusts several times, but a wasteful Taremi and Moghanlou squandered a few chances that could have made the second half more comfortable than it was.

The second half saw the entire team changed for the first time in the history of Team Melli matches. The introduction of Rouzbeh Cheshmi as a defensive midfielder replacing the lame Ezatolahi, in addition to Ali Gholizadeh and Omid Ebrahimi, refreshed the midfield while Khalilzadeh in defense and Haj Safi on the left back solidified the defense. However, neither Ansarifard nor Asadi replacing Moghanlou and Taremi in the second half made any significant impact up front.

At the final whistle of the Iraqi referee, Amir Ghaleneoi must have been quite relieved by the narrow win but less than comfortable to see how his team can be contained and easily outpaced by a pressing and aggressive team.

It seems that Alireza Beiranvand sustained an injury in the first half and his substitution was necessary. On the bench Beiranvand was treated with heavy ice pack on his knees. Rezaeian was not involved as he is still being treated and the coaching staff did not risk him for this match.

Iran will play Indonesia next in Doha in the final preparation game before starting its campaign in AFC Asian Cup vs Palestine.

Team Melli will be facing a tough test vs. Burkina Faso.

The land-locked West African team, the 125th team facing Iran in a few days in Kish Island. The team is preparing for the AFCON 2023 is just a few days away. A competition that brings together the best African nations in Côte d’Ivoire. For this 34th edition, Burkina Faso could pull out all the stops. Having finished fourth at the last edition, the Etalons have a strong case for claiming the title in Côte d’Ivoire.

What if the AFCON 2023 was for Burkina Faso? In 12 participations, the Etalons have never managed to lift the continental trophy. Bertrand Traoré’s team-mates could be in for a 13th appearance. Lodged in Group D with Mauritania, Algeria, and Angola, the Etalons could well come out on top.

One final and three semi-finals at AFCON

Burkina Faso can dream of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Semi-finalists on their first appearance in 1998, the Etalons were so close to this goal in 2013 when they reached the final. Unfortunately, they came up against the Nigeria of the late Stephen Keshi. The Super Eagles won by the slimmest of margins (1-0). Since then, Burkina Faso has been doing their best to make it onto the list of winners of this prestigious competition. They reached the semi-finals twice, in 2017 and 2021. Although they have yet to win the competition, the Etalons have gained experience that will stand them in good stead in Côte d’Ivoire.

Bertrand Traoré with his lieutenant Dango Ouatara

If Burkina Faso are to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, they will need formidable strikers capable of making the difference. Bertrand Traoré remains the number 1 attacking weapon in the Burkina Faso squad. For his 4th  AFCON, the Etalons captain is hoping to finally win the trophy. African U17 champion and 5th all-time top scorer with 17 goals, the man with 74 caps will be the spearhead of the Burkinabe attack. Bertrand Traoré will not be alone in this quest. He will be supported by young strikers such as Dango Ouatara. A mute performer for his club this season, Dango Ouattara remains decisive for his country. The Bournemouth striker contributed to his side’s qualification for the competition by scoring four goals, including a brace against Eswatini (3-1).

Impressive in Cameroon, Kaboré and Touré to confirm?

Issa Kaboré and Blati Touré made their mark at the 2021 edition. Kaboré rode his right flank for miles. Stunning and unstoppable, Issa Kaboré was impressive defensively and offensively. Best decisive passer of the tournament with four goals, and he was awarded the trophy for the best young talent of the competition. And what about Blati Touré, who was undoubtedly one of the best relay midfielders at the AFCON 2021? Thanks to his touch and passing ability, he delighted Cameroon. The Etalons midfielder was also unstoppable in duels. It’s not for nothing that he was voted “Man of the Match” three times at the AFCON 2021. Like Bertrand Traoré and Dango Ouattara, these two players are hoping to take Burkina Faso to the top in Côte d’Ivoire.

Reinforcements in the Defensive Sector

For this  AFCON 2023, Hubert Velud has called up 27 players. And 11 Etalons will be making their AFCON debut. In particular, the French coach has reinforced his defensive line with a number of nuggets who will back up Edmond Tapsoba. Promising novices who could contribute to Burkina Faso’s final victory.

The player to watch: Edmond Tapsoba

Edmond Tapsoba is a right-footed defender known for his sense of anticipation, maturity, heading and recovery. He is also very rarely booked – a very key quality.  

His ‘clean’ play on the pitch brings a certain serenity to his defense posture. His good game reading, effective positioning, and excellent heading allow him to intercept numerous balls and cut off most of the opposing offensive plays. 

Thanks to his technical quality, he makes good restarts. He is very fast which is rare for a central defender, and he is blessed with a powerful shot. Tapsoba has no difficulty projecting himself forward when the game requires it.

Ghalenoei “We will build a younger team for the World Cup”

Amir Ghalenoei, Team Melli head coach, briefly commented on the status of the squad preparing for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, saying: “Fortunately, the team’s conditions are very good. Those players who were worthy, in our opinion, were invited to the national team with different tactical thoughts. Let’s talk in a more detailed program. Considering the short time until the Asian Cup, a short-term plan was drawn up for this purpose but the longer-term plan is to prepare the team for the World Cup with younger players. Other players deserved to be in the squad, but due to the limitation on the number of players we could select, we decided on this list.”

“We went through the list meticulously to finalize these 26 players,” Ghalenoei said.

on the friendly match versus Burkina Faso, he said “Burkina Faso is ranked 57th in FIFA ranking and sitting close to Saudi Arabia. It is a very good team. I noticed some people criticized the selection of that team. Of course, every team we play with will be criticized. We can test our two tactics against them and it will be a serious test. I thank the officials of Kish for paying for this game. I ask all my loved ones to put aside all love and hatred in this month. One day is Amir Ghalenoei, one day is Mr. Queiroz and one day is Mr. Ghotbi. It is important to support the national team at this time. We do everything we can.”

Ghalenoei then went on a rant about patriotism and how everyone should be quiet and just support the team without any criticism.

Like his predecessors, Ghalenoei as a Head Coach is no exception when it comes to being criticized and loathing towards those media that point out his shortfalls. It seems that he is mostly affected by the severe criticism of his aging squad both in the online media and the social media. His claim about building a younger team after the Asian Cup is perhaps a small token of admission that with such an aging team that he picked up for the Asian Cup, the oldest amongst the main contenders for the Asian Cup, it will be that much more difficult to achieve success.

Team Melli announces the preparation plan.

  • A training camp is arranged in Kish Island
  • A friendly match against Burklina Faso is arranged in Kish.

According to the plans made public by the Football Federation, Team Melli team will hold its camp in Kish on January 4th. During the camp, the Iran team will play its last match before traveling to Qatar to take part in the AFC Asian Cup. The match will be held on Friday, January 5th at the Kish Olympics stadium against Burkina Faso national team.
This team is currently training in Dubai. The game at Kish Island will be held at 18:00 Iran time. After this match, the squad will continue training in Kish until January 8th when they will fly to Doha well ahead of the first match against Palestine.

Team Melli will be gathering in Kish without the legionnaire players unless some of these clubs release the players early.

Burkina Faso national football team

This African Team has never played against Team Melli. The FIFA Ranking of Burkina Faso national football team ranks 57th in the world according to the latest FIFA rankings, higher than teams like Qatar, Finland, and Ireland. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is 56th in this ranking and Iran is 21st.

Almost all the players of the national team play abroad with European and African clubs to a lesser extent. Perhaps the most famous player is the 28-year-old Bertrand Traoré who plays for the English Premier League side, Aston Villa. Two other players are also playing in the EPL, Dango Ouattara at Bournemouth and Issa Kaboré at Luton Town.

Burkina Faso has never qualified for the FIFA World but the country’s football took a significant stride in the new millennium with the team reaching the African Nations Cup several times and ending the tournament in Senegal in 2021 in the fourth rank. Their best-ever position was the runner-up in 2013 in South Africa.

Last 5 results

12/09/23FRIMorocco1 – 0Burkina FasoL
13/10/23FRIEquatorial Guinea0 – 0Burkina FasoD
17/10/23FRIMauritania1 – 2Burkina FasoW
17/11/23CWCBurkina Faso1 – 1Guinea-BissauD
21/11/23CWCEthiopia0 – 3Burkina FasoW