B/Faso,Egypt In Clash Of Records

Burkina Faso and Egypt go head-to-head with unbeaten records and a place in the Africa Cup of Nations final at stake.
Neither team has tasted defeat in Gabon – and seven-time champions Egypt has yet to concede a goal at the championship.
Having played their semi-final 24 hours earlier than Egypt, the Burkinabe may benefit from extra rest and preparation time.
“It is not an ideal situation, but we have no choice but to adapt,” said Egypt coach Hector Cuper.
“The players will be given time to rehabilitate and hopefully they will be ready come Wednesday night.”
A calf injury rules out Egypt’s Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny and striker Marwan Mohsen is a doubtful starter because of a knee problem.
Despite the disadvantages, Egypt will be expected to continue a remarkably successful semi-finals run spanning 31 years.
The Pharaohs eliminated Morocco (1986), Burkina Faso (1998), Senegal (2006), the Ivory Coast (2008) and Algeria (2010) to reach finals, all of which they won.
Egypt has reserved some of their finest performances for the last-four stage, thrashing Didier Drogba-led Ivory Coast 4-1 in Ghana and Algeria 4-0 in Angola.
A wide winning margin against the Burkinabe Stallions is unlikely, however, as Egypt have clawed rather than cruised past opponents in Gabon.
Burkina Faso, which reached the final in 2013 but certainly wasn’t expected to be in the semi-finals in Gabon.
The Stallions beat Tunisia with two goals in the last nine minutes to reach the last four.
Substitute Aristide Bance scored with a low drive from a free-kick only five minutes after coming off the bench. While, Prejuce Nakoulma made sure of the victory on the counter-attack, after Tunisia had thrown everyone forward, rounding the goalkeeper 40 yards out before slotting into an empty net.
The Burkinabes, however, still fret over the fitness of Al Ain’s Jonathan Pitroipa, the winger struggling to regain fitness since a muscle strain forced his withdrawal early in the group-stage draw against Gabon.
But Burkina Faso have gained momentum without him, topping their group thanks to a goal from Bertrand Traore, the Chelsea striker on loan at Ajax, in the 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau, including their famous 2-0 victory over Tunisia.
The Stallions, finalists in 2013 but never AFCON winners are shaping up as dark horses. Their uphill task now would be to crack the solid defence of an Egyptian side yet to concede a goal in the tournament.
With the three most successful teams in the history of the tournament and the 2013 finalists still alive in the AFCON last four, it promises to be a thrilling semi-finals encounter sure to keep fans on the edge of their seats until the end.
The Burkinabes, however, still fret over the fitness of Al Ain’s Jonathan Pitroipa, the winger struggling to regain fitness since a muscle strain forced his withdrawal early in the group-stage draw against Gabon.