Herve Koffi of Burkina Faso had an afternoon to remember in the Africa Cup of Nations currently going on in Cameroon, and he made sure the world knew about it after an acrobatic show following a penalty shoot-out versus Gabon.
Koffi, a player for Charleroi in the Belgian top league, was seen lurking near the by-line as Ismahila Ouedraogo came up to take the game-winning penalty.
The 25-year-old was on his feet as soon as the ball touched the back of the goal, sprinting down the line and completing a series of somersaults to celebrate the victory.
After failing to qualify for the 2019 event, Burkina Faso is now only one victory away from reaching only their second AFCON final in the country’s history. The West Africans eliminated a more fancied Tunisia in the quarter finals on Saturday to book a date with Senegal on February 2. Fans have the opportunity to take the 1xbet promo code of 2022 to be used for remaining games of the campaign.
Burkina Faso had their chances before the shoot-out, but the match finished all-square after 90 minutes.
In normal time, Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore missed a penalty, but Burkina Faso answered with a goal from open play to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.
After Sidney Obissa of Gabon was sent off for a second yellow card, they ended the game with ten men, but a late Adama Guira goal forced extra time.
After missing two of their first eight penalties, both teams advanced to the ninth set of penalty takers.
Guelor Kanga was denied by Koffi, but Gabon’s glovesman Jean-Noel Amonome also made a save, and it appeared at one time that both goalkeepers might have to step up and take penalties.
However, Koffi’s joy was evident following Lloyd Palun’s miss, and Ouedraogo’s successful spot-kick. It was a moment Koffi was waiting for, and as any other keeper, he dreaded the moment he would have been made to face his opposite number in taking a spot kick.
Burkina Faso were second in their group, behind hosts Cameroon, finishing ahead of Cape Verde owing to their superior head-to-head record after both teams managed four points.
Burkina Faso returned to action on Saturday in the first quarter final clash of the AFCON 2022, where they beat all odds to beat Tunisia 1-0. A late first half strike by Ouattara Da was enough to seal the win, ensuring they would wait on the winner between Senegal and Equatorial Guinea the following day.
This presents one of the best tournaments for the Stallions after a disappointing series before the Cameroon edition. They finished runner-up in 2013, losing 1-0 to Nigeria in the final after overcoming Ghana on penalties in the semis, and they finished third in 2017.
The Stallions missed out on the 2019 tournament after ranking below Angola and Mauritania, leaving Koffi to wait for his second AFCON campaign, which he has taken advantage of.
On their part, Gabon finished the tournament without losing a single game in regulation time. Despite missing senior figures in Arsenal’s (now Barcelona) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina for all of their group matches, they won once and drew twice in their group to finish second behind Morocco.