Burkina Faso defender Steve Yago has criticised FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over what he described as an “unfair” qualification process that saw Nigeria advance to the CAF playoffs for the 2026 World Cup ahead of his country.

Yago, who helped Burkina Faso to a 3–1 win over Ethiopia in their final qualifying match, expressed his frustration on Instagram and X after learning that Nigeria had edged them out on goal difference.

“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,” Yago wrote. “Apparently, beating the last-placed team is too conventional. Thank you, CAF and FIFA!”

Burkina Faso finished second in Group A with 21 points behind Algeria, but under CAF’s qualification rules, results against the bottom team in each group are excluded when calculating the best runners-up. After removing results against Djibouti, the Stallions’ total dropped to 15 points.

Nigeria, who were runners-up in Group C with 17 points, lost only two points when results against Zimbabwe were excluded, leaving them with 15 points as well—but with a better goal difference that secured the final playoff spot.

The outcome sparked anger in Ouagadougou, with President Ibrahim Traoré reportedly demanding clarification from CAF on how the standings were determined. According to reports by GhanaWeb, Traoré also directed the Burkinabé Football Federation to submit a formal complaint, describing the development as “deeply disappointing.”

The controversy has reignited debate over CAF’s qualification format, which many critics argue is unnecessarily complicated and unfair to teams in stronger groups.

Burkina Faso’s campaign had already faced challenges, as several of their early qualifiers were played away from home due to renovations at the Stade du 4 Août in Ouagadougou.