Burkina Faso will look for an upset win when they face hosts and Group A rivals Cameroon in the opening match of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday 9 January.
The teams will meet at the Stade Omnisport Paul Mbiya in Olembe, with kick-off at 16:00 GMT.
Cameroon, who are five-time AFCON holders, qualified as both hosts and top finishers in Group F of the preliminaries-ahead of Cape Verde, Rwanda and Mozambique.
The Indomitable Lions will be appearing at their 25th Nations Cup tournament and looking to go one step further than the previous edition in 2019, when they were eliminated in the last 16 and were unable to defend their title won in 2017.
Cameroon will be hoping to go all the way this time around, but will need their fellow countryman to rally behind them if they are to claim an unlikely sixth AFCON title.
The Indomitable Lions coach António “Toni” Conceiçao recently predicted that their opponents in Group A will not be pushovers but he is determined that charges will be victorious.
“I believe we have to think positively. We need to work hard and be up to our responsibility to bring back the good days of Cameroonian football,” said Conceicao.
Burkina Faso, meanwhile, after missing the last edition in Egypt, they are back in Africa Cup of Nations. The West Africans impressively qualified as Group B winners in the preliminaries, finishing ahead of Malawi, Uganda and South Sudan.
The Stallions finished as runners-up in 2013 edition and with Africa Cup of Nations having expanded format, it gives them an opportunity for another spectacular show in the tournament.
Head coach Kamou Malo, who has a young squad at his disposal, will look to the likes of Bertrand Traore, Cyrille Bayala, Dango Aboubacar Faissal Ouattara and Abdoul Fessal Tapsoba to spark their potent attack to life.
Malo says his charges are going into the tournament as underdogs and football fans across the continent should not be surprise I they bring down big teams.
“Our team is one of the dark horses. We have a young but very talented a squad. An ambitious group of players with great solidarity and unity. Taking these values into consideration, we can cause surprises,” Malo said.
In head-to-head stats, Cameroon and Burkina Faso have met in 9 previous matches. The Indomitable Lions have claimed four wins compared to one for the Stallions, with four draws thrown into the mix.
The teams last met in an African Nations Championship (CHAN) group stage match in Yaounde in January 2021, with the clash ending all square at 0-0.
