Burundi target Ivory Coast scalp

03/20/2025 05:00 AM

Burundi will be determined to return to winning ways in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers when they host Ivory Coast on Friday.

Kick-off is at 9:00 pm CAT.

The Group F match is scheduled to take place at the Honneur Stadium in one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, Meknes.

The Swallows are winless in their last seven matches across all competitions, having suffered a 1-0 defeat to Uganda in the 2024 CHAN qualifier in December 2024 and it was their third consecutive defeat.

Burundi are placed third in the Group F standings – three points behind leaders, Ivory Coast, and two points second-placed Gabon with six matches left in this round of the qualifiers.

Norwegian-based striker Bertran Nishimwe Mvuka has been handed his first-ever Burundi call-up, while Claus Niyukuri, Abedi Bigirimana, Henry Msanga, Mohamed Amissi and Sudi Abdallah have been recalled to the Swallows squad.

“Yes, there are those two big names. We’ll host Ivory Coast first and then Seychelles. I’m confident, and if we manage to get a good result against Côte d’Ivoire, I think we’ll do well,” Burundi head coach Patrick Sangwa Mayani said on Afrikipresse.

“I’m confident. I was here during the 2023 AFCON, and football has taught us that there are no longer any small teams in Africa. So you just need to be organized and prepare well to achieve very good results.”

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast saw their two-match unbeaten across all competitions come to an end when they lost 2-0 to Burkina Faso in the 2024 CHAN qualifier in December, having recorded two successive wins before facing the Stallions.

The Elephants are placed at the top of the Group F standings and the West African giants will be looking to pull away from the chasing pack with a victory over Burundi as they look to qualify for the World Cup for the fourth time.

Ivory Coast have had to make changes in the squad as the injured Hamed Junior Traore of Auxerre has been replaced by Rangers midfielder Mohammed Baba Diomande.

"It is a period where the player is a little bit tired. This period is better for the smaller teams because they have more energy and more possibilities,” Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Fae said on Pulse Sports.

"We knew the path to qualification would be long. We are only four games in. We have a long way to go. We have games against Burundi and Gambia in March and we will try to get all the three points but we know it will not be easy."

Burundi and Ivory Coast have met five times and all matches were won by the Elephants.

Their last meeting ended in a 4-0 win in favour of the West African giants in an international friendly match played in Morocco in November 2022.