Cape Verde will be aiming to make it two wins from two 2021 Africa Cup of Nations matches when they take on a wounded Burkina Faso side at Stade Omnisport Olembe on Thursday evening.
Kick-off is at 16h00 GMT.
The Blue Sharks got their campaign off to a winning start, edging Ethiopia 1-0 in the tournament opener last Sunday.
Julio Tavares scored the only goal of the game where their opponents had Yared Bayeh sent off for bringing down the towering striker just outside the box in the eighth minute.
Cape Verde were not at their best and were outplayed by Ethiopia who were unlucky not to have scored an equalizer despite being a man down.
The Blue Sharks assistant coach Humbreto Bettencourt though congratulated his charges but warned them to improve their game for a spot in next round.
“I expect that both teams will be better in Thursday’s match, as the main target of both of them is to win, with Cape Verde looking to secure qualification while the opponent wants to revive hopes of proceeding to next round,” said Bettencourt.
Burkina Faso suffered a 2-1 loss to hosts Cameroon in their tournament opener with Gustavo Sanagre scoring the lone goal that was later cancelled by Vincent Aboubakar’s brace from the spot.
The Stallions started the match without some of their key players who were ruled out after getting Covid-19 positive results which were unsuccessfully challenged by the Burkinabe FA.
Aston Villa forward Bernard Traore and promised that they will do well in the coming match against Cape Verde.
“We had an opportunity to have three points or at least one point, but the most important thing is to learn from this.
“We still have two games to win and go through. We will do everything to be able to qualify.”
Ranked eleventh on the African continent, more was expected from the Stallions who will be desperate to silence the Islanders in midweek.
