Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and hosts Gabon
vowed to put a poor start to their Africa Cup of Nations behind them and beat
Burkina Faso on Wednesday in the second series of Group A matches.
A
“Panthers” team captained by the Borussia Dortmund star striker conceded a
last-minute goal to only draw 1-1 with minnows Guinea-Bissau in the tournament
opener.
Former
African Footballer of the Year Aubameyang put the home team ahead with a tap-in
only for Juary Soares to nod the leveller off a free-kick.
With
four-time champions Cameroon held 1-1 by Burkina Faso later last Saturday,
every team has one point and identical goal records going into the second round
of group games.
Gabon
and Burkina Faso clash at 5:00 pm local time (1600 GMT) in the 40,000-seat
Stade de l’Amitie in Libreville followed by Cameroon against Guinea-Bissau
three hours later.
Aubameyang
knows he and his team-mates let supporters of the central African team down and
has promised a better performance against opponents they beat 2-0 at the same
stage two years ago.
“We
have learnt from our mistakes,” said the 27-year-old born in France to a
Gabonese father and a Spanish mother, making him eligible to represent three
nations.
He
opted for Gabon, a country once captained by his father who have never gone
further than the quarter-finals at the Cup of Nations.
“I
remain positive that we can reach our first goal, which is qualifying for the
knockout phase,” said the leading Bundesliga scorer this season with 16 goals
from 15 matches.
“We
have lofty ambitions in this tournament and playing at home in front of our
wonderful supporters is a great advantage.
“Mistakes
were made against Guinea-Bissau, like conceding a goal in the final minute. We
must now rectify those errors and defeat Burkina Faso.”
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