They were rewarded for not beating Zimbabwe — Burkina Faso defender slams CAF for letting Nigeria qualify

Burkinabe defender Steve Yago decried CAF’s changes to the criteria for finishing among the four best second-placed teams, which saw Nigeria finish above Burkina Faso and make the playoffs. 

Nigeria finished as the fourth-best second-placed team from the nine CAF qualifying groups, on similar adjusted points as Burkina Faso, who finished fifth. However, the Super Eagles' superior goal difference placed them above the West African nation. 

Interestingly, Burkina Faso had more total points than Nigeria; however, the decision to disregard all points and goals gotten against the last-placed team in each group placed them on equal footing, with the Super Eagles then edging them with goals.

This frustrated 32-year-old Yago, who could not help but feel hard done by. Honestly, it's weird: you win your matches against the weakest team in your group, and yet Nigeria goes ahead of you, even though they didn't even beat Zimbabwe, the last team in their group,” he said on social media, captured by ESPN Africa. 

“Apparently, beating the last team in the group is too mainstream. Thanks to CAF and FIFA! My career is coming to an end soon... I'll study the field so I can criticise you properly.”

As Pulse Sports explained, CAF had to rejig its qualification criteria for second-placed teams after Eritrea pulled out. 

This is because teams in Eritrea’s group would have gotten six points and six goals without lifting a muscle. While that matters little to competition for first place in the individual group, as everyone gets the points and goals, it matters on the general second place table, as it would be an unfair advantage. The reverse would be the same, as it would be an unfair disadvantage. 

Hence CAF's decision to disregard all points and goals obtained by the second-placed teams against the team that came last in their group of playoff purposes. The concerned federations were informed in March.