Belarus let a 2-0 advantage evaporate in Minsk, held to a 2-2 draw by Burkina Faso as Carlos Alós once again saw his side lose control of a friendly late on. The hosts rode a rugged shape and quick transitions to seize the lead, only for B. Traoré’s substitutions to flip the flow in the final quarter of an hour.
Burkina Faso controlled much of the territory, finishing with 64 percent of possession and a six-to-one edge in corners, but the visitors lacked incision before the break. Pavel Pavlyuchenko and his back line sat deep, with Egor Parkhomenko and Zakhar Volkov shielding the area while Gleb Shevchenko and Vladislav Malkevich held the width. Alós went to his bench immediately after the interval, bringing on Artem Kontsevoy and Vladislav Kalinin in the 46th minute to freshen the right flank. When Dango Ouattara collected a yellow card in the 51st minute for a late press, Belarus sensed nerves in the visitors’ build-up.
That pressure told when Malkevich scored in the 56th minute, capitalising on the space left as Burkina Faso reset after a corner. Alós doubled down on mobility by introducing Karen Vardanyan in the 62nd minute, and the substitute repaid the call by scoring in the 67th minute to cap a counter that split the visiting midfield square. At 2-0, Belarus looked comfortable, even after a triple reshuffle on 70 minutes that removed Malkevich for Kirill Pechenin and refreshed central areas with Artem Sokolovskiy and Ruslan Lisakovich.
Traoré answered decisively. Moise Kaboré had already arrived in the 60th minute, and he struck in the 73rd minute to give Burkina Faso belief. Saidou Simporé and Arthur Zagre followed in the 71st minute to push the tempo on the flanks. Belarus, now deeper and with fewer outlets, lost their grip. Yuri Kovalev entered in the 79th minute but collected a yellow card in the 84th minute as the hosts retreated further. The equaliser came a minute later, Edmond Tapsoba powering through to score in the 85th minute, proof of Burkina Faso’s relentless set-piece pressure. Volkov’s booking in the 87th minute underlined how frantic the home defending became.
Belarus will take solace from the impact of their substitutes, but Alós still has to fix the side’s late-game management before UEFA Nations League qualifiers loom next month. For Traoré, the comeback reinforces his case for leaning on Kaboré and Tapsoba when the World Cup qualifying slate resumes; the depth pieces he trusted in Minsk delivered.
Statistics
- Possession: Belarus 36 percent, Burkina Faso 64 percent
- Shots on target: Belarus 3, Burkina Faso 4
- Shots off target: Belarus 3, Burkina Faso 6
- Corners: Belarus 1, Burkina Faso 6
- Fouls: Belarus 13, Burkina Faso 11
- Yellow cards: Belarus 2, Burkina Faso 1
For more from this international window, read Hungary 3-1 Kazakhstan: match report.
