There's something about this Ivory Coast side that makes them so difficult to write off. Remember last year in Abidjan? They were dead and buried after that group stage humiliation against Equatorial Guinea. Then they won the whole thing. Now here they are again, in Morocco, doing exactly what champions do – making it look easy when it matters most.
Tuesday night at the Grand Stade de Marrakech belonged to them, and specifically to one man wearing the number 7 shirt. Amad Diallo, fresh from yet another turbulent week at Manchester United where Ruben Amorim has just been shown the door, produced the kind of performance that makes you wonder why anyone ever doubted his quality.
Diallo's masterclass silences the doubters
Twenty minutes in, and the game was already slipping away from Burkina Faso. Goalkeeper Hervé Koffi had been living dangerously, playing out from the back like he was auditioning for a possession-based team rather than protecting a fragile lead. When he gifted the ball cheaply, Diallo pounced. A composed finish over the onrushing keeper, and the Elephants were ahead.
VAR took its time confirming the goal – Burkinabè players were convinced there was a foul in the build-up – but the decision stood. And honestly? Burkina Faso looked defeated from that moment onwards.
Twelve minutes later, Diallo turned provider. His low cross from the right found the 19-year-old Yan Diomande, who took one touch before drilling home. 2-0 at half-time, and the only real question was whether Ivory Coast would add to their tally.
What Brama Traoré got wrong
The Stallions had arrived in Marrakech with bold words. Coach Brama Traoré had insisted his side came to Morocco "to reach the final, play it and win it." Noble ambitions. But sometimes football has a cruel way of exposing the gap between rhetoric and reality.
Speaking after the match, Traoré was admirably honest about what went wrong: "It was a difficult game for us because we had a plan, which was to start the game well and then control the Ivory Coast team. I think after the first goal was scored, we lost our way."
Dango Ouattara, the Brentford winger who's been one of the few bright spots in a disappointing Premier League season for his club, did rattle the crossbar with a fine solo effort. But that was as close as Burkina Faso came to troubling Yahia Fofana in the Ivorian goal.
The champions mean business
What separates good teams from great ones is often invisible – the hunger, the discipline, the understanding that complacency kills. Emerse Faé, the coach who turned around their disastrous 2024 campaign mid-tournament, seems to have instilled exactly that mentality.
"Every time possession was lost, the players reacted immediately," Faé explained post-match. "They were under pressure at times and put in difficult situations, but they made a real effort to recover the ball very, very quickly. There were many interceptions, duels won and balls regained directly from the opponent's feet."
Bazoumana Touré, just 19 years old, added the third in the 87th minute – a wonderful solo run from inside his own half that showcased the depth Faé now has at his disposal.
Egypt await – and so does a different kind of test
The quarter-final draw has handed Ivory Coast a clash against seven-time champions Egypt in Agadir on Saturday. Mohamed Salah and his teammates won't be as accommodating as Burkina Faso were tonight.
But that's a problem for later. For now, the Elephants can reflect on becoming the first reigning AFCON champions since Egypt themselves in 2010 to win a knockout game in their title defence. Seven previous holders – including Nigeria, Cameroon, and Algeria – all failed at this stage in subsequent tournaments.
Diallo summed up the team's approach perfectly: "There is a genuine connection, a certain rhythm in the way we play. No one is trying to be the hero or to shine individually for the country. If I have the chance to make the pass, I do it. It's instinctive."
Instinctive. Collective. Ruthless. Three words that describe this Ivory Coast side. Three words that should worry everyone else left in Morocco.