Key events
Catch up with yesterday’s action at Afcon.
Starting lineups
Burkina Faso (4-3-3): Koffi; Tapsoba, Yago, Dayo, Kouassi; Quedraogo, Sangare, Toure; L Kabore, Ouattara, B Traore
Subs: Ayinde, Aziz Ki, Badolo, Bouda, Djiga, I Kabore, Irie, Monoungou, Nikiema, F Quedraogo, Simpore, L Traore, Zougrana
Equatorial Guinea (4-1-4-1): Owono; Aka, Orozco, Coco, Ndong; Mascarell; Zuniga, Machin, Ganet; Asue; Salvador
Subs: Esono, Anieboh, Balboa, Buyla, Embela, Eneme, Masogo, Obiang, Miranda, C Ondo, Nsue, J Nabil Ondo, Sapunga, Senra
If you have any memories of watching football on Christmas Eve, do let me know. I can’t really remember any …
Preamble
Festive greetings to you and your loved ones. I can’t remember many experiences of live football on Christmas Eve, so we better embrace. It is a final chance to avoid our families for a couple of hours.
Burkina Faso begin their Afcon campaign with plenty of hope. Over the past 12 years they have finished second, third and fourth, and will be optimistic of going a long way in the tournament. Sunderland’s Bertrand Traore is the skipper but there is no shortage of quality in the squad. Dango Outtarra of Brentford is the other Premier League representative, while right-back Issa Kabore, who wears the No 9 shirt, is another experienced player with over 50 caps despite only being 24 years old.
Who could forget Equatorial Guinea skipper Emilio Nsue’s spells with Middlesbrough and Birmingham? He is still going strong at 36 but is plying his trade in the Spanish third tier. The country has never qualified for the World Cup and its best Afcon performance was in 2015 when they came fourth. This year progress to the knockout stages would be their best bet, and a good start today would set them on their way.
Kick-off: 12.30pm GMT
