CAF 2017
Five facts ahead of Gabon v Burkina Faso
Five facts for the Africa Cup of Nations Group A match between Gabon and Burkina Faso in Libreville on Wednesday (1700 CET).
Hosts Gabon face Burkina Faso tomorrow in Libreville in the second game for Jose Antonio Camacho's side in Group A. After Saturday's disappointing 1-1 draw with Guinea-Bissau, Gabonese fans will be anxious to see an improvement from "The Panthers". Here's five five facts ahead of the game:
5 facts:
-- The countries also met in Group A at the 2015 Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea with Gabon winning 2-0 through goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Malick Evouna.
-- It ultimately proved a hollow victory for the Gabonese as they came third and the Burkinabe last in a section from which Congo Brazzaville and Equatorial Guinea qualified for the quarter-finals.
-- Borussia Dortmund striker Aubameyang went on to be crowned the African Footballer of the Year in 2016, an honour no Burkina Faso footballer has achieved.
-- There was an individual award for a Burkinabe star, however, at the 2013 Cup of Nations with winger Jonathan Pitroipa voted the outstanding player in South Africa.
-- Burkina Faso finished runners-up in that edition -- the closest they have come to winning the biennial tournament -- while the farthest Gabon progressed is the quarter-finals in 1996 and 2012.