Black Stars, Stallions battle for AFCON bronze

Burkina Faso v Ghana
Venue: Port-Gentil
Kick off: 8pm

Burkina Faso and Ghana were devastated by the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final defeats, but have the chance to finish on a high in the third-place play-off.
Avram Grant could be taking charge of Ghana for the last time when they play Burkina Faso in the Africa Cup of Nations third-place play-off in Port-Gentil, Gabon on Saturday.
The former Chelsea boss has strongly hinted this tournament would be his last in charge of the Black Stars with his contract nearing expiry and he may not even get the chance to decide for himself due to criticism he is receiving in Ghana.
The likely end of Grant’s tenure comes after he failed to end their 35-year wait for AFCON glory following the 2-0 semi-final defeat to Cameroon, two years on from their heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to Ivory Coast in the final.
“I am more than unhappy,” said Grant. “We wanted so much to be in the final.
“We did everything to be there and in the second half we completely dominated Cameroon. Congratulations to them, but the better side lost.
“It is not exactly the dream of our lives to play this game [against Burkina Faso], but we will do everything to win it.”
Ghana, who have lost their last two third-place play-off ties in 2012 and 2013, can at least take solace from making the last four for the sixth consecutive AFCON.
Burkina Faso, meanwhile, are also developing a solid track record in the competition, with their trip to the semi-finals coming four years after they were runners-up in South Africa.
Their hopes were dramatically ended on penalties against Egypt after 120 minutes of action had ended in a 1-1 draw.
“We should have won because we showed our skills, stamina and determination – we had the opportunities,” said Burkina Faso head coach, Paulo Duarte, whose side have had an extra day’s rest ahead of the Ghana clash.