Doha: The Burkina Faso U17 Stallions have secured a place in the round of 16 at the Qatar 2025 World Cup after defeating the Tajikistan U17 Lions of Persia 2-0 in a Group I match held in Doha.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the Burkinabe team managed to break through the resilient defense of their opponents with persistent effort. Throughout the first half, the Lions of Persia resisted repeated attempts by the Junior Stallions to score. However, a missed penalty by Loukman Achraf Tapsoba during first-half stoppage time kept the score level at the break.

The second half saw a shift in momentum as the Tajik defense began to falter under pressure from Oscar Barro's team. After conceding several fouls, the Tajik side gave away a second penalty, which was successfully converted by Ali Badra Barro in the 78th minute. In response, the Tajik team adopted a defensive strategy to minimize further damage.

Despite their efforts, Eric Ouattara managed to extend Burkina Faso's lead with a decisive side-footed goal in the second-half stoppage time (90+2). Meanwhile, in the same group, the USA secured a narrow 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic, placing them at the top of the group with 9 points (+3). Burkina Faso follows with 6 points (+2), while the Czech Republic and Tajikistan occupy the third and fourth positions with 3 points (+3) and 0 points (-8), respectively.

In this tournament, the top two teams from each group automatically qualify for the round of 32, alongside the eight best third-placed teams, who will also advance to complete the lineup for the next stage. Burkina Faso, currently second in Group I, may face Austria, the leader of Group L, in the upcoming matches.

The round of 32 is set to commence on Friday, November 14, as part of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is taking place from November 3 to 27 in Doha, Qatar.