1. **Team Form & Recent Performance**  

   **Ivory Coast - Defending Champions**  

   The Elephants demonstrated remarkable resilience in their final group match, overturning a 0-2 deficit against Gabon to secure a 3-2 victory, thereby establishing an unbeaten competitive streak of 14 matches. This comeback exemplifies their 2023 AFCON-winning mentality, turning early adversity into tournament momentum.  

   Their group stage results showcase a strong attacking capability paired with defensive vulnerabilities, evidenced by victories over Mozambique (1-0) and Gabon (3-2), along with a draw against Cameroon (1-1). The 15 goals scored in their last five competitive matches underscore their offensive strength, yet conceding three goals across their last two AFCON fixtures indicates potential opportunities for defensive exploitation.  

   Their World Cup qualification campaign further reaffirmed squad quality, finishing top of Group F with 26 points, just one ahead of Gabon, confirming access to elite European talent with significant playing time at major clubs.

   **Burkina Faso - Disciplined Runners-Up**  

   The Stallions earned their runners-up status in Group E with a methodical 2-0 victory over Sudan, where coach Brama Traoré strategically rested key players to maintain fitness for knockout competition. This tactical rotation, while sensible, indicates that the squad may lack the depth to rotate without facing consequences— a critical disadvantage compared to Ivory Coast’s asset pool of 370 million euros versus Burkina Faso’s 120 million euro valuation.  

   Their only group-stage loss occurred against Algeria (0-1), which drew post-match criticism from football analysts regarding their struggle to create quality scoring opportunities against top-tier opponents. This pattern has consequences for corner-dependent attacking strategies, as teams struggle to...