The Burkina U20 Stallions suffered a bitter defeat at the hands of the Indomitable Lion Cubs of Cameroon in the climax of the 9th Francophonie Games at the Kinshasa Martyrs Stadium on Sunday, August 6, 2023. This marked the first loss for the Stallions in the tournament, denying them another trophy under the leadership of Brama Traoré.
Having missed the opportunity to claim the UFOA-B competition trophy, the Stallions were yearning for redemption in the Francophonie Games. However, their dreams were shattered once more in the final, this time by the Indomitable Lion Cubs of Cameroon, with a scoreline of 2-1.
The match kicked off with the Lion Cubs sending a warning shot to the Stallions in the 20th minute, a strike that was comfortably collected by the Burkinabe goalkeeper. The Stallions reciprocated with a counter-offensive at the 27th minute, but Pierre Landry Kabore’s shot was thwarted by the Cameroonian goalkeeper. Despite the Stallions’ relentless attempts, they found themselves trailing 1-0 at halftime, unable to find the back of the net.
As the second half progressed, the Stallions, who had never trailed in the competition up to this point, managed to claw their way back into the game. Harouna Dicko found the net in the 63rd minute, equalizing the score to 1-1. However, their joy was short-lived when they were penalized with a penalty at the 79th minute following a slipup in the Burkinabe penalty zone. The penalty was successfully converted by the Lion Cubs, sealing their victory.