Algeria will square off against Burkina Faso at the Stade Bouaké in the second group stage match of the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 (AFCON) on Saturday.
Algeria, the 2019 champions, were held to a 1-1 draw by Angola in their campaign opener as their winless run at the AFCON extended to four games. Baghdad Bounedjah broke the deadlock in the 18th minute, assisted by Youcef Belaïli. Bounedjah almost doubled the lead for his side, but his outrageous overhead strike was ruled out after the player was flagged offside.
Angola came back stronger in the second half and their persistence was rewarded in the 68th minute as substitute Mabululu converted from the penalty spot to level the scores.
Burkina Faso left it late against Mauritania in their campaign opener with Bertrand Traoré scoring the match-winner in the sixth minute of added time. They were awarded a penalty following a VAR check and the Aston Villa striker made no mistake in converting from the spot.
Algeria vs Burkina Faso Head-to-Head
The two teams have met 18 times across all competitions thus far in official games. These games have been contested closely between the two teams, with the 2019 winners having a narrow 7-6 lead in wins and five games ending in draws.They last met in the CAF 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 2021, with the two meetings ending in draws.They have met twice in the group stage of the AFCON. Algeria recorded a 2-1 win in the 1996 edition and Burkina Faso avenged their loss in 1998 with a 2-1 win.The Stallions have scored at least once in their last 15 games at the AFCON.The Desert Warriors have failed to score in two of their last five appearances at the AFCON and have kept two clean sheets in these games as well.
