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Libreville - Burkina Faso open their Afcon 2017 campaign against; a game coach Paolo Duarte believes could go either way.
Portuguese coach Duarte in charge of the Stallions for a second spell and is hoping that the country can go one better than their 2013 performance when they took the silver medal after losing to Nigeria in the final.
Duarte warned Cameroon not to expect an easy game as they have not come to Gabon for holidays rather they want points.
"It will be a tough game against a very good opponent, but the game will be as complicated for Cameroon, because we are a great team," Duarte told supersport.com.
"Physically, the team will never be 100% ready from the first match but we want to keep on improving game after game.”
"Without injuries, I can assure you that we will make a great contender. With injuries, I do not know where we can go. But before winning the Nations Cup, we must think of qualifying for the quarterfinals. It’s an opportunity all my players have relished and I have clearly told them the importance of the first match in any competition.”
“We have a good compact team and we don’t want to cast aspersions but we can promise Cameroon it will not be business as usual as we have come for serious competition and not for holidays that’s why I am looking forward to Saturday so that we can see where to make corrections or adjustments in our next game,” Duarte added.
Burkina Faso, who were Afcon hosts in 1998, will be making their tenth appearance in the last 12 tournaments.
The 2013 tournament in South Africa is the only Afcon outside Burkina Faso where the Stallions won a match they will be hoping for something different in 2017.
