After their elimination from the U17 World Cup, Burkina Faso fans were not kind to their team.Disappointed by their elimination, some are still proud of their team.
Burkina U17's elimination from the 2023 World Cup was a bitter pill to swallow. The Burkinabe had hoped right up until the end to qualify for the second round of the competition, but defeat by France (3-0) and the USA (2-1) didn't make things any easier. Their only victory of the tournament came against South Korea (2-1). After this elimination, the disappointment is great, even if the players' performance was remarkable.
"There was room to qualify".
It was a "frustrating" elimination, according to Burkina U17 coach Brahima Traoré and his protégés, who didn't mince their words about the setback."This elimination hurts us. We set ourselves the goal of going all the way in the competition. But alas," admits Traoré.
"We were deeply affected by this elimination. Against France and the United States, we had chances that could have won us those games. Unfortunately, we weren't able to capitalize on them. We lost on little details that we're going to work on correcting," explained Fayçal Traoré."There are regrets. I think luck wasn't on our side either. Personally, I had two one-on-ones but I couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. I'm sorry because there was room for us to qualify," lamented Apollinaire Bougma.
"Our young Stallions spent their time playing Messi and Ronaldo".
Disappointed by their elimination from the U17 World Cup, some fans have not been kind to their team in their comments. Such is the case of Daniel Lengani: "Serves us right. In a high-level competition, you can't keep losing. If you can't win, you need a draw. We were unable to do that in the first two games against France and the United States. So we're not surprised to be eliminated. Look at the collective play and complicity developed by Mali, Senegal and Morocco during their matches.Our young Stallions spent their time playing like Messi and Ronaldo through individual play in a competition where the collective is a definite weapon".
Théophile Sawadogo: "I'd have been surprised if they hadn't, but congratulations on your participation. Tradition will soon be respected, and you'll learn to play as a team rather than as individuals"."Everyone went to play with the intention of being recruited by the scouts, forgetting that they went to defend an entire country. It's a shame. What they forget is that these same recruiters won't accept a player who plays too individually. These are the consequences. They're going home early.It's a shame," concludes Josué Kafando.
Disappointed, but still proud
Some fans were equally disappointed, but still proud of Burkina U17 and their performance at the U17 World Cup 2023. They also remain optimistic about a better result next time around. Éric Zongo: "I think they made us dream. They gave it their all, only we didn't qualify. I'm also convinced of one thing: any player who gets on the pitch has the audacity to win. All teams, like the Etalons, also play for victory. Let's be fair. Let's accept elimination. No team is eternally invincible on this earth. This is an opportunity for them to learn. Congratulations on their participation.Take heart".
Issa Traoré, who is also proud of his team, believes that "this is top level football and there are mistakes you can't make. You can't leave your destiny to another match. We had to prove ourselves from the very first minutes. Unfortunately, the results are bitter. We need to learn from our mistakes and get back on track. We had our say in this competition. However, our lack of concentration and realism in front of goal, coupled with our inability to play as a team, cost us dearly. Now we had to save our honour. And that's what they did against South Korea. I'm delighted.
