Burkina Faso beat Ghana on penalties to reach its first African Cup final in a stunning upset on Wednesday, coming from behind to draw 1-1 after 120 minutes and then eliminating the four-time champion 3-2 in the shootout in Nelspruit, South Africa.
Three Ghanaians missed their spot kicks, with Burkina Faso goalkeeper Daouda Diakite pulling off the decisive save from Emmanuel Agyemang Badu to send the underdogs through to Sunday's final against Nigeria at Soccer City, having only ever made it past the group stage once before.
"When we arrived in this competition, the only person who believed in us was our coach," Burkina Faso captain Charles Kabore said.
The Burkinabes didn't even need to take their last kick as Ghana's players came up short at the end, having led the second semifinal through Wakaso Mubarak's 13th-minute penalty.
But playing in just its second semi and first in 15 years, Burkina Faso dragged itself back into the game with Aristide Bance's equalizer in the 60th and then unleashed a succession of attacks against the fading Ghanaians in extra time at Mbombela Stadium.
Bance went close a number of times, while Burkina Faso also had a goal disallowed, was denied what appeared to be a penalty when Jonathan Pitroipa went down in the area in the 117th minute, and often fell on the wrong side of Tunisian referee Slim Jdidi's decisions.
Instead of a spot kick, Pitroipa was shown a second yellow card for diving and sent off. Burkina Faso still emerged victorious from the shootout to howls of approval from the crowd, which had adopted the team after it played its entire tournament in Nelspruit leading up to the final.
"I was very upset during the game, very angry with the decisions of the referee," winning coach Paul Put said. "It was difficult to control myself. But like I said to the players at halftime, we don't need the referee to win today. For me, it's a great victory."
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