TotalEnergies U17 AFCON: Traore rues missed chances in Burkina defeat
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Burkina Faso head coach Brahima Traore has rued his side’s missed chances as they suffered a slim 1-0 defeat to Mali in their opening Group C match of the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Annaba on Monday.
The tactician says the outcome would have been different had they made use of the myriad of goal scoring opportunities they got.
“In football, you have to convert your chances. If we had scored the chance we got in the first minute, the game would have changed. In the second half also, we had better chances and better possession than Mali but when you don’t score, you get punished. We lacked composure in front of goal,” the tactician lamented after the game.
Despite the defeat, Traore believes Burkina Faso’s chances of making the last eight are still realistic, though the group is complicated with only three teams.
“It is not over yet. We still have destiny in our hands. If we win against Cameroon, we will stay in the race. We have six days to look at what we need to adjust and see what went wrong against Mali,” the tactician further stated.
The group remained with only three teams after South Sudan were eliminated by MRI rules. The top two in the group will automatically get into the last eight while the third placed team might have a chance as one of two best third placed teams.
