Burkinabé defender Steve Yago has voiced his frustration over Burkina Faso’s failure to reach the CAF playoffs for the 2026 World Cup, questioning how Nigeria advanced ahead of his country despite their strong qualifying campaign.

Yago’s reaction followed Nigeria’s 4–0 win over Benin on Tuesday night, October 14, which sealed their place in the playoffs.

Yago, who took to Instagram and X to express his discontent with the qualification format, described the outcome as unfair.

He wrote, “Honestly, it’s strange. You win your matches against the weakest team in your group, and yet Nigeria is ahead of you, even though they didn’t even beat Zimbabwe, the bottom side in their group.

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“Apparently, beating the last-placed team is too conventional. Thank you, CAF and FIFA! With my career coming to an end, I’ll soon study the system so I can criticise it properly.”

Burkina Fasoburkina had celebrated their 3–1 victory over Ethiopia, believing it was enough to secure a playoff spot, only to discover that Nigeria had edged them out on goal difference after both nations finished with identical adjusted points.

Under CAF’s qualification regulations, results against the bottom team in each group are not considered when calculating the best four runners-up.

Burkina Faso, which finished second in Group A with 21 points behind Algeria, lost six points from their total after excluding results against Djibouti, reducing their tally to 15.