Hosts, Indomitable Lions of Cameroon and the Stallions of Burkina Faso will kick off this year’s Africa Cup of Nation today in Group A inside the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé.
This will be the third time both countries will be meeting in the continental showpiece.
For Burkina Faso they will be looking for a first ever win against Cameroon at the AFCON, when they take to the field in the opening game.
The two country first met in the competition at the 1998 edition which was hosted by Burkina Faso.
And after 90 minutes of football, the Indomitable Lions ran out 1-0 winners thanks to Alphonse Tchami‘s 20th minute strike.
Their next encounter came at the 2017 edition in Gabon which saw both teams settle for a 1-1 draw.
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Benjamin Moukandjo gave Cameroon the lead in the 35th minute before Issoufou Dayo drew Burkina Faso level with 15 minutes left in the game.
Aside not beating the Cameroonians at the AFCON, Burkina Faso are yet to record a win against the five-time African champions in a competitive fixture.
Their only win came in a friendly game which was in 2018 and they have lost four and drawn four of their nine encounters.
Will Portuguese-born Toni Conceição become the first coach to achieve a first AFCON win over Cameroon for Burkina Faso, that will be answered after Sunday’s opener.
Also in Group A, 1962 AFCON champions Ethiopia will take to the field against Cape Verde which will be the second game of the tournament.
It is a return to the AFCON for Ethiopia since 2013 held in South Africa where they crashed out in the group stage.
Since the 2013 tournament, Ethiopia has missed the last three editions in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
For Cape Verde this will be there third appearance at the AFCON after 2013 and 2015.
This will be the first competitive meeting between Ethiopia and Cape Verde and a win for either team will be a huge boost ahead of their other group fixtures with Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
Cape Verde go into the tie on the back of three wins in their last five games (one draw and one defeat) while Ethiopia only managed one win (two defeats and two draws) in their last five games.
