Bertrand Traoré’s Burkina Faso suffered an agonising semi-final exit in the Africa Cup of Nations following a 3-1 defeat to Senegal on Wednesday.
The Aston Villa wide man, who wears the captain’s armband for his nation, completed 90 minutes but ultimately fell to defeat in an eventful clash in Yaounde.
Burkina Faso will now compete in the third-placed play-off on Saturday (ko 7pm), against either Egypt or tournament hosts Cameroon.
The Stallions can be proud of their run to the semis and will be looking to replicate their 2017 AFCON success when they finished third.
The hard-fought last-four encounter saw Senegal twice awarded a penalty in the first half, only for VAR to intervene and the decisions be overturned by the referee.
However, Senegal did break the deadlock in the 70th minute courtesy of Abdou Diallo, before former Villa midfielder Idrissa Gueye just got ahead of compatriot Bamba Dieng to add a second shortly afterwards.
Traoré, a constant attacking threat, played his part in the build-up in Burkina Faso's goal as they reduced the deficit via Blati Toure in the 82nd minute.
His strike set up a nervy finale but Sadio Mane made sure of victory for Senegal in the 87th minute when he added a third on the break, securing their spot in Sunday’s final.
