Before this edition of the Africa Cup of Nations started, few would
have put money on either Burkina Faso or Togo reaching the semi-finals..
But one of these sides will advance to the Last Four following their
quarter-final meeting in Nelspruit on Sunday. And if it's Togo, they
will make more history.
Talismanic striker Emmanuel Adebayor was not originally going to be
part of the campaign, but smoothed things over with the Togolese FA at
the eleventh hour. He has been instrumental to his side getting this
far, and will be crucial again against the Burkinabe.
"I'm very happy - I'm part of the history. It's a good thing for the
country and a good thing for me. We can even go beyond what we think we
can do, and I hope now we have a chance to win the cup. We just have to
go for it," Adebayor said.
By reaching the quarter-finals for the first time, the Sparrow Hawks
have already completed their most successful ever Nations Cup campaign,
so it would be an astonishing achievement for them to progress even
further.
Burkina Faso, whose best result in eight editions of the competition was
a fourth-placed finish on home soil in 1998, rounded off their Group C
campaign with a 0-0 draw against Zambia which saw the defending
champions drop out of the tournament with a whimper.
Coach Paul Put said: "We have got to the quarter-finals but we must keep our feet on the ground. "It will be a tough game but we've played three tough matches already.
"Togo are a very strong team physically and have a player who can make the difference at any time in Emmanuel Adebayor. But I think they have already shown they also have a great team."
Burkina Faso will have to do without Lorient striker Alain Traore for the rest of the competition, but Put has backed his remaining players to fill the void.
"Alain is a major player," the Belgian added. "We know his qualities, including from free-kicks and corners, but we have enough quality to replace him.
"Tomorrow we must play without him and I trust the other players."
Africa Cup of Nations
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Date: Sunday 3 February
Kick-off: 18:30 GMT
Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website, TV coverage on Eurosport and ITV
Coach Paul Put said: "We have got to the quarter-finals but we must keep our feet on the ground. "It will be a tough game but we've played three tough matches already.
"Togo are a very strong team physically and have a player who can make the difference at any time in Emmanuel Adebayor. But I think they have already shown they also have a great team."
Burkina Faso will have to do without Lorient striker Alain Traore for the rest of the competition, but Put has backed his remaining players to fill the void.
"Alain is a major player," the Belgian added. "We know his qualities, including from free-kicks and corners, but we have enough quality to replace him.
"Tomorrow we must play without him and I trust the other players."
Africa Cup of Nations
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Date: Sunday 3 February
Kick-off: 18:30 GMT
Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website, TV coverage on Eurosport and ITV
