Burkina Faso scored in the 95th and 98th minutes to deny 10-player Equatorial Guinea the first major shock of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 as the countries started their group stage campaigns in astonishingly dramatic style.
Marvin Aniebo headed the underdogs in front five minutes from the end of regular time in their Group E opener, only for Georgi Minoungou’s close-range finish and Edmond Tapsoba’s header to turn the result around for The Stallions deep into second-half added time.
Basilio Ndong was sent off for the National Thunder five minutes after half-time for treading on Sunderland forward Bertrand Traore’s ankle, but the team ranked 97th by Fifa overcame the left-back’s dismissal and an abundance of pressure to go ahead against opponents 35 places above them before losing in cruel circumstances.
Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea
Despite having the likes of Traore and £42 million Brentford record signing Dango Ouattara in attack, Burkina Faso squandered a plethora of chances and fell behind against the run of almost all of the contest when Aniebo met Carlos Akapo’s corner in expert fashion.
Having earlier had a Lassina Traore strike ruled out for offside after the second-half substitute met Ouattara’s knockdown, Brama Traore’s team could have been forgiven for suspecting their luck was out – but the trend of ultra-late goals at the tournament then continued with their remarkable comeback.
Minoungou fired in after Ouattara collected Tapsoba’s clever pass inside the box and was brought down for what would almost certainly have been a penalty, and Tapsoba had the final say when goalkeeper Jesus Owono flapped at a cross.
Both teams are next in action on Monday, when Equatorial Guinea meet Sudan (15:00 GMT) before Burkina Faso face Algeria (17:30).
Burkina Faso team vs Equatorial Guinea
Lorient left-back Arsene Kouassi and Hearts forward Landry Kabore made their AFCON debuts for Burkina Faso.
Striker Ouattara has three goals in this season’s Premier League, as well as winning four penalties – the most of any player in the division.
Winger Issa Kabore, who was on the bench, has been at Manchester City since 2020, making the latest of a series of loan moves to second-tier Wrexham this season.
Burkina Faso starting XI: Herve Koffi, Steeve Yago, Issoufou Dayo, Edmond Tapsoba, Arsene Kouassi, Ismahila Ouedraogo, Gustavo Sangare, Blati Toure, Bertrand Traore, Dango Ouattara, Landry Kabore
Burkina Faso substitutes: Farid Ouedraogo, Lassina Traore, Abdoul Ayinde, Adamo Nagalo Nasser Djiga, Mohamed Zougrana, Cedric Badolo, Issa Kabore, Ousseni Bouda, Stephane Aziz Ki, Georgi Minoungou, Cyriaque Irie, Kilian Nikiema, Saidou Simpore
Equatorial Guinea team vs Burkina Faso
Real Madrid prospect Loren Zuniga started in attack for Equatorial Guinea, who had 2023 AFCON golden boot winner Emilio Nsue on the bench.
Nsue, 36, plays for Spanish second-tier side Intercity and is his country’s record scorer.
Equatorial Guinea starting XI: Jesus Owono, Carlos Akapo, Esteban Orozco, Saul Coco, Basilio Ndong, Loren Zuniga, Jose Machín, Omar Mascarell, Pablo Ganet, Luis Asue, Iban Salvador
Equatorial Guinea substitutes: Nestor Senra, Marvin Anieboh, Alex Balboa, Jannick Buyla, Dorian Junior, Emilio Nsue, Charles Ondo, Aitor Embela, Pedro Obiang, Josete Miranda, Santiago Eneme, Manuel Sapunga, Jose Nabil Ondo, Gael Akogo Esono, Alex Masogo
AFCON 2025 fixtures, results today
All kick-off times are GMT.
Burkina Faso 2-1 Equatorial Guinea
Algeria vs Sudan (15:00, Rabat)
Ivory Coast vs Mozambique (17:30, Marrakech)
Cameroon vs Gabon (20:00, Agadir)
Burkina Faso AFCON 2025 squad
Goalkeepers: Herve Koffi (Angers), Kilian Nikiema (ADO Den Haag), Sofiane Farid Ouedraogo (Al Hilal)
Defenders: Nasser Yacouba Djiga (Rangers), Edmond Tapsoba (Bayer Leverkusen), Issoufou Dayo (Umm Salal), Adamo Nagalo (PSV Eindhoven), Steeve Yago (Aris Limassol), Issa Kabore (Wrexham), Arsene Kouassi (Lorient), Abdoul Rachid Ayinde (Gent)
Midfielders: Ibrahim Blati Toure (Pyramids), Cedric Badolo (Spartak Trnava), Saidou Simpore (National Bank), Mohamed Zougrana (MC Alger), Gustavo Sangare (Noah), Stephane Aziz Ki (Wydad Casablanca), Ismahila Ouedraogo (OB Odense)
Forwards: Bertrand Traore (Sunderland), Dango Ouattara (Brentford), Ousseni Bouda (San Jose Earthquakes), Pierre Landry Kabore (Hearts), Georgi Minoungou (Seattle Sounders), Cyriaque Ire (Freiburg), Lassina Traore (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Equatorial Guinea AFCON 2025 squad
Goalkeepers: Jesus Owono (FC Andorra), Manuel Sapunga (Sekhukhune Utd), Aitor Embela (Soneja)
Defenders: Esteban Orozco (FC Arges), Marvin Anieboh (UD San Sebastian de los Reyes), Carlos Akapo (Amazonas), Saul Coco (Torino), Basilio Ndong (KF Tirana), Michael Ngaah (Real Avila), Nestor Senra (Recreativo Huelva), Charles Ondo (Portland Timbers), Javier Mum (Maestro United)
Midfielders: Jannick Buyla (CD Numancia), Omar Mascarell (Mallorca), Pablo Ganet (Persita Tangerang), Alex Masogo (Beroe Stara Zagora), Alex Balboa (CD Lugo), Jose Machin (Vis Pesaro), Pedro Obiang (Monza), Santiago Eneme (Sparta Prague).
Forwards: Iban Salvador (Wisla Plock), Josete Miranda (PS Kalamata), Gael Joel Akogo (Recre Granada), Jose Nabil Ondo (Nantes B), Luis Asue (Shanghai Shenhua), Dorian Hanza (Viborg), Loren Zuniga (Real Madrid Castilla), Emilio Nsue (CF Intercity).
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AFCON 2025 fixtures, full Africa Cup of Nations schedule
Sunday, December 21 2025
- Group A: Morocco 2-0 Comoros (Rabat)
Monday, December 22 2025
- Group A: Mali 1-1 Zambia (Casablanca)
- Group B: South Africa 2-1 Angola (Marrakech, 17:00)
- Group B: Egypt 2-1 Zimbabwe (Agadir, 20:00)
Tuesday, December 23 2025
- Group D: Senegal 3-0 Botswana (Tangier, 12:30)
- Group D: DR Congo 1-0 Benin (Rabat, 15:00)
- Group C: Nigeria 2-1 Tanzania (Fes, 17:30)
- Group C: Tunisia 3-1 Uganda (Rabat, 20:00)
Wednesday, December 24 2025
- Group E: Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea (Casablanca, 12:30)
- Group E: Algeria vs Sudan (Rabat, 15:00)
- Group F: Ivory Coast vs Mozambique (Marrakech, 17:30)
- Group F: Cameroon vs Gabon (Agadir, 20:00)
Friday, December 26 2025
- Group B: Angola vs Zimbabwe (Marrakech, 12:30)
- Group B: Egypt vs South Africa (Agadir, 15:00)
- Group A: Zambia vs Comoros (Casablanca, 17:30)
- Group A: Morocco vs Mali (Rabat, 20:00)
Saturday, December 27 2025
- Group D: Benin vs Botswana (Rabat, 12:30)
- Group D: Senegal vs DR Congo (Tangier, 15:00)
- Group C: Uganda vs Tanzania (Rabat 3, 17:30)
- Group C: Nigeria vs Tunisia (Fes, 20:00)
Sunday, December 28 2025
- Group F: Gabon vs Mozambique (Agadir, 12:30)
- Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan (Casablanca, 15:00)
- Group E: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Rabat, 17:30)
- Group F: Ivory Coast vs Cameroon, (Marrakech, 20:00)
Monday, December 29 2025
- Group B: Angola vs Egypt (Agadir, 16:00)
- Group B: Zimbabwe vs South Africa (Marrakech, 16:00)
- Group A: Comoros vs Mali (Casablanca, 19:00)
- Group A: Zambia vs Morocco (Rabat, 19:00)
Tuesday, December 30 2025
- Group C: Tanzania vs Tunisia (Rabat, 16:00)
- Group C: Uganda vs Nigeria (Fes, 16:00)
- Group D: Benin vs Senegal (Tangier, 19:00)
- Group D: Botswana vs DR Congo (Rabat, 19:00)
Wednesday, December 31 2025
- Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria (Rabat, 16:00)
- Group E: Sudan vs Burkina Faso (Casablanca, 16:00)
- Group F: Gabon vs Ivory Coast (Marrakech, 19:00)
- Group F: Mozambique vs Cameroon (Agadir, 19:00)
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 round of 16
Saturday, January 3 2026
- SR1: Group D winners vs Group B/E/F third-place (Tangier, 16:00)
- SR2: Group A runners-up vs Group C runners-up (Casablanca, 19:00)
Sunday, January 4
- SR3: Group A winners vs Group C/D/E third-place (Rabat, 16:00)
- SR4: Group B runners-up vs Group F runners-up (Rabat, 19:00)
Monday, January 5
- SR5: Group B winners vs Group A/C/D third-place (Agadir, 6pm)
- SR6: Group C winners vs Group A/B/F third-place (Fes, 8:30pm)
Tuesday, January 6
- SR7: Group E winners vs Group D runners-up (Rabat 2, 6pm)
- SR8: Group F winners vs Group E runners-up (Marrakech, 8:30pm)
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 quarter-finals
Friday, January 9
- QF1: Winner SR2 vs Winner SR1 (Tangier, 16:00)
- QF2: Winner SR4 vs Winner SR3 (Rabat, 19:00)
Saturday, January 10
- QF3: Winner SR7 vs Winner SR6 (Marrakech, 16:00)
- QF4: Winner SR5 vs Winner SR8 (Agadir, 19:00)
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 semi-finals
Wednesday, January 14
- SF1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4 (Tangier, 17:00)
- SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2 (Rabat, 20:00)
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 third-place match
Saturday, January 17
- SF1 vs SF2 losers (Casablanca, 16:00)
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 final
Sunday, January 18
- SF1 vs SF2 winners (Rabat, 19:00)