Burkina Faso vs Tunisia
Kick off: 5pm
Burkina Faso will square off with Tunisia in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal encounter in Libreville on Saturday.
It will be a repeat that will reflect in the mind of Coach Henry Kasperczak, who was at the helm when Tunisia were eliminated 8-7 on penalties at the same stage by Burkina Faso in 1998, before his first spell in charge was brought to an end at the World Cup later that year.
Tunisia clinched progression from Group B with a 4-2 victory over Zimbabwe.
The Stallions coach knows defensive improvement is required if his side are to fare better than they did 19 years ago.
Kasperczak said: “I don’t like to live in the past. I remember that period with nostalgia, but this is a new generation and it’s a new story.
“I have confidence this team can go far. Burkina do not concede a lot of goals, they play quick, technical football.
“We have more defensive problems than them. We have rectifications to make, we have worked on this a lot and I tried to be more organised.”
The Carthage Eagles will be depending on impressive attacker Youssef Msakni, who has stood out more than others.
Msakni can be able to play as attacking midfielder or a striker, making him the most creative force in his side.
For Burkina Faso, they will be hoping to continue with their fine run in the tournament.
They qualified from Group A with five points from one win and two draws.
Coached by Paulo Duarte, the side is determined not to give any possible advantage ahead of the match.
In a pre-match interview, Duarte indicated that he will bring on tactics to confuse his opponents.
He said: “I won’t tell you who will play, even the players don’t know. But this is a tactic to confuse our opponent.”
The French-born tactician will be relying on youngster Bertnard Traore in his starting line-up after the midfielder put in a superb performance, that included a goal, in the 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau in their final Group A game.
“Bertrand is an amazing player,” said Duarte. “He is very strong, technical and very quick.
“Last month he was injured so he started to train again only 20 days ago. He is not at his maximum but he can help us to win.
“It is a difficult game, with two strong teams. I know my players will play a strong game because I have good players and a good team – we have a good possibility to win the match.”