The AFCON 2021 round of 16 begins this Sunday.
The first game in the knock-out stage is Burkina Faso taking on Gabon at the Limbe Stadium. Burkina Faso had mixed results in Group A. They were beaten by Cameroon 2-1 and they in turn beat Carpe Verde 1-0. They had a 1-1 draw with Ethiopia and hence secured four points which saw them proceeding to the next round. Both teams finished second in their group stages and a win for either team means a place with the big 8 boys.

Just a few days before AFCON kicked off, Burkina Faso beat Gabon 3-0 in a friendly match played in Dubai. In 2013, Burkina Faso pushed through as they reached the finals where they were beaten by Nigeria. The tournament was held in South Africa. The Stallions boast of a young squad that includes Issoufou Dayo, Bertrand Traore and Abdoul Fessal Tapsoba.

Gabon is coming into the match as runners-up in Group C with five points and played out a marvelous 2-2 draw against Morocco. They won against 1-0 against Comoros and drew 1-1 against Ghana. Panthers on a mission will be without captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who returned to Arsenal after being diagnosed with heart lesions following a positive Covid-19 test. Gabon were crushed out of group stages in the 2017 Afcon edition which they were hosts and failed to qualify for the Egypt edition in 2019.

Which team is going to be the first to move to the Group of 8?