Burundi no match for Mauritius

A hastily arranged inexperienced Burundi team proved to be too much for newly-formed young Mauritius side as the opening Group B match of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup between the two east African sides ended 4-1 in favor of the former at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka Thursday.

Nshimiramana Jospin, the 18-year-old winger, netted a hat-trick in his first international game as Burundi strolled to a comfortable victory against a side where almost all the players except lone scorer Adrien Francois made their international debut.

None managed to bring their regular squad due to the unavailability of the players in the non-Fifa window as Burundi coach Bipfubusa Joslin informed that as many as 10 players in the starting XI made their senior debut.

Mauritius, comprising mostly U-20 players as their coach Fransisco Filho termed the squad “too young”, managed to enjoy some possession in the early stages as Adrien opened the scoring with a fine placing shot, but his marker could have done better to block the attempt.

Burundi took full control slowly.

 Photo: Dhaka Tribune 

Jospin leveled the margin with a cool-headed finish at the near post after a brilliant diagonal pass from Gasongo Benjamin, before defender Ndikumana Asman’s left-footed free kick curved home as Burundi went into the break with the lead.

Jospin extended the lead three minutes after the break, before completing his treble with an even better finish in the 86th minute.

He converted a defence-splitting long through pass of captain Tambwe Amissi, the most experienced member of the squad who last played for the national team four years ago.

With the win, Burundi almost sealed their semi-final place before facing lowest-ranked Seychelles in the last group stage match Saturday as Jospin confidently revealed their target of playing the final.

RESULT

Mauritius 1 (Adrien 3) 3 Burundi (Jospin 28, 48, 86, Asman 41)

TODAY’S MATCH

Palestine v Sri Lanka