Burkina Faso booked their place at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals after beating Botswana 2-1 at the Stade du 4 Août in Ouagadougou on Sunday afternoon.

The Stallions of Burkina Faso went into Group D encounter targeting nothing but a victory to qualify for next year’s Afcon finals.

Prejuce Nakoulma fired the Stallions into the lead in the 18th minute when he beat Botswana goalkeeper Kabelo Dambe. Burkina Faso were leading 1-0 at halftime.

On the hour-mark, Botswana were reduced to ten men when hard-working midfielder Lesego Galenamotlhabe was red-carded.

The visitors did restore parity with nine minutes left on the clock, but they were dealt a major blow in the 90th minute when Dambe was also sent-off.

Nevertheless, Banou Diawara sealed Burkina Faso’s 2-1 victory in stoppage time and the home side qualified for the Afcon finals.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com