AFCON 2021: Burkina Faso 3 (3) - 3 (5) Cameroon Player Ratings

The third-place match between Burkina Faso and Cameroon was a game of two halves as the hosts roared back to fill a three-goal deficit after a hapless first-half performance.

Toni Conceicao made an astonishing nine changes to his starting lineup from the semifinal fixture against Egypt and it showed as the hosts were unable to cope with the Stallions' targeted attacks in the first 45 minutes.

Steeve Yago and a blistering Issa Kabore effort, which went down as an Andre Onana own-goal, put the 2013 runners-up ahead by two goals before the halftime whistle.

Steeve Yago scored his first-ever goal for Burkina Faso since making his debut in March 2013 (Twiiter/CAF) Pulse Nigeria

Another goal by Djibril Ouattara in the 49th minute set the Stallions on their way to a podium finish only for a combination of nerves and Vincent Aboubakar to snatch it from them.

Starting on the bench, the tournament's leading scorer came on to great effect. Aboubakar scored a quick-fire brace between the 85th and 87th minute to finish off Stephane Bahoken's 71st-minute effort.

While the end justifies the means, it is rare for a team to go three goals behind and for another to blow a three-goal lead without the combination of some excellent play as well as terrible play.

Thus, both Burkina Faso and Cameroon come away with mixed reviews and statistics from this fixture.

However, Cameroon hold the most important metric by which this match is judged: the bronze medals.

Ambroise Oyongo (R) is mobbed by team-mates after scoring the winning penalty in the shootout against Burkina Faso AFP

Aboubakar's eight goals represent the second-highest haul at the AFCON finals, just one shy of Ndaye Mulamba's nine goals in 1974.

Here are the player ratings from the Burkina Faso vs. Cameroon fixture

Burkina Faso Starting XI: F. Ouedraogo (90') - 6.0; Kabore - 5.5, S Ouattara - 4.5,, E. Tapsoba - 5.0, Yago - 5.0; Toure - 5.5, I. Ouedraogo - 5.0, B. Traore (87') - 5.5, Sangare - 5.0, A. Tapsoba (87') - 5.5, D. Ouattara (90') - 6.0

Substitutes: E. Traore (87') - N/A, Bande (87') - N/A, Konate (90') - N/A, Sawadogo (90') - N/A

Cameroon Starting XI: A. Onana - 4.5; Mbaizo - 5.0, Onguene - 4.5, Moukodi ,- 4.5, Bitolo - 6.0; J. Onana - 5.5, Gouet (46') - 5.0; Bassogog (54') - 5.0 , Kunde - 6.0, Ganago (46') - 4.5; Bahoken - 6.5

Substitutes: Aboubakar (46') - 7.5, Ngamaleu (46') - 6.0, Ekambi (54') - 6.5