The Burkinabe have been boosted by the rescinding of Jonathan Pitroipa's sending-off against Ghana, with officials admitting he should not have received a second booking.

At the beginning of the tournament it was Cape Verde being the fairytale story but now it's moved to Burkina Faso," Molefe said.

"They've done well to reach this point. I think with Jonathan Pitroipa coming back to play the final after getting that red card it's going to be a big motivation for them to go out and pull off a big upset."

Meanwhile, Mali claimed third place for the second year in a row after beating Ghana 3-1 in a rematch of the 2012 playoff.

Mali led 2-0 through a diving header by Mahamadou Samassa and Seydou Keita's third goal of the tournament, but Ghana's Wakaso Mubarak missed the chance to net his fifth when he blazed a 58th-minute penalty over the bar in the pouring rain at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

The Black Stars, who won the last of their four African titles in 1982, got back into the game in the 82nd minute when Mali goalkeeper Soumbeïla Diakite was completely wrongfooted by a speculative long-range shot by Kwadwo Asamoah.

However, substitute Sigamary Diarra settled the match in time added on to give some cheer to a country embroiled in conflict between Islamist rebel forces, government troops and the French military.