Burkina Faso: Bertrand Traoré and Issoufou Dayo, winning returns

Absent from the squad since Brama Traoré took charge of the Étalons in March 2024, captains Bertrand Traoré and Issoufou Dayo made their comebacks for matchdays 3 and 4 of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers. Their returns helped Burkina Faso secure qualification with two matchdays still to play.

Returns that made an impact

In these two winning comebacks, Traoré and Dayo gave the national side a different dynamic with more than impressive performances. Available to his team-mates, lively, incisive and valuable with his link-up play, captain Bertrand Traoré confirmed that he is quite simply the technical heartbeat of the Burkina Faso Étalons. A scorer and provider across the two games, Traoré made an even greater impression on the Burkinabè public.

As for Issoufou Dayo, who also scored and was heavily involved defensively, with plenty of runs to block and stop opponents, the vice-captain restored confidence to a Burkinabè defence that had struggled in the previous matches.

Read also: AFCON 2025 (Q): Burkina Faso first to qualify

According to Oumarou Sawadogo, president of the Burkinabè Football Federation (FBF), the two returns also reflected a united front within the Étalons squad: "Anyway, with what happened before, when we arrived we wanted a consensus and we wanted to bring everyone together. And when you talk about bringing people together, whether on the left or the right, in front or behind, you are going to call on everybody. I think that is what allowed us to build a very collective team."

Asked about the performances of the two captains, a few supporters made no secret of their satisfaction. That is the case of Ousmane Coulibaly: "I'm happy that the whole team is back together. And it gives more strength and calm to Brama Traoré's squad. The coach becomes calmer as well. In my view Bertrand Traoré and Issoufou Dayo bring calm and confidence to the team.". For Abdoul Ouédraogo: "Those who thought we were against the coach, you see now nobody is against anybody, right? It's just for the good of the team. When we are united, we are stronger. You will see that Burkina Faso will rise in the competitions to come. May God spare the group from injuries."

Bala Hassane, with a touch of regret, also welcomed the returns: "Honestly, we nearly made mistakes over these two players and we understood very well that it was just jealousy and hatred, when we have nobody better than these two players. So we absolutely need both experienced players to improve and complete the team. I really appreciated their return. It did us good, with qualification to back it up."

With two matchdays of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers still to play, the Burkina Faso Étalons have already booked their place at the finals, which will take place in Morocco. This qualification is the first objective achieved by head coach Brama Traoré, who at the same time becomes the first Burkinabè coach to take the national team to the Africa Cup of Nations with two matchdays of the qualifiers remaining.