After losing their first match to the USA, Burkina Faso bounced back with this victory. In their previous game, they had played well for 78 minutes but lost due to a late goal by Cavan Sullivan.

Barro expressed his frustration after that game, but focused on correcting mistakes for the match against Czechia. “We dropped off defensively in the last 20 minutes and paid the price,” he explained. “Today, we held out for 94 minutes. We have to congratulate the lads. They were very brave.”

The defense required a strong team effort. Fadil Barro had a solid game against the USA, but Issouf Dabo shone against Czechia. The 16-year-old defender read the game well and excelled in the air, while Mikael Coulibaly supported him effectively by stopping dangerous plays down the right wing.

Czechia had just scored six goals against Tajikistan in their previous match, with Vit Skrkon scoring a quick hat-trick. He was the only player to score against Burkina Faso in this game, earning praise from Barro. “We played against a good Czech side who possess the ball well, are aggressive, and have a very dangerous center forward,” Barro said of Skrkon, who has four goals in the tournament so far.

Burkina Faso’s goalkeeper, Rahim Ouattara, played a crucial role with several important saves. He denied Skrkon in the 16th minute and made four key stops during the match. He was aided by the crossbar once when Filip Hruska’s powerful shot hit the woodwork.

Burkina Faso will face Tajikistan in their final group match next Tuesday. “We’re united and we’re going to try to perform better in the next match,” said Mohamed Zongo. “We have to treat the next game like a final — with focus and composure,” Barro concluded.