Swallows out to claw much-fancied Elephants

rugby18 March 2025 18:45| © Backpage TXT
Share
article image
Emerse Fae © Getty Images

Burundi will be looking to humble African champions Ivory Coast when the two teams meet in Friday's 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier at the Honneur Stadium in Morocco.

Kick-off is at 9pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM

The Swallows are winless in their last seven matches across all competitions, having suffered a 1-0 loss to Uganda in the 2024 Chan qualifier in December 2024 in what 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.

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.

TEAM NEWS

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.

Ivory Coast, on the other hand, have had to make changes in the squad as the injured Hamed Junior Traore of Auxerre has been replaced by Rangers midfielder Mohammed Baba Diomande.

WHAT WAS SAID?

Burundi head coach Patrick Sangwa Mayani:

"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 Ivory Coast, I think we'll do well," 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 organised and prepare well to achieve very good results."

Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Fae:

“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," 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 points on offer but we know it will not be easy.”

HEAD-TO-HEAD

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.