An inspiring story from Georgi Minoungou, the one-eyed footballer at AFCON 2025

Burkina Faso faced Equatorial Guinea in their opening group match and trailed 0–1 deep into stoppage time after a goal from Marvin Anieboh. When defeat looked inevitable, Minoungou struck in the 95th minute to level the score. Just three minutes later, Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba completed the comeback, sealing a dramatic victory.

After the match, much of the attention turned to Minoungou’s remarkable personal story. The winger lost sight in his left eye following a severe infection while preparing for the 2023 season with Seattle Sounders in Marbella. The infection caused extreme swelling and ultimately permanent vision loss.

Doctors advised Minoungou to retire from professional football. He refused. Instead, he asked to continue training on his own to prove he could still compete at the highest level - and he succeeded.

Minoungou returned to action, earned first-team minutes, and in June 2025 was part of Seattle Sounders’ squad for the FIFA Club World Cup. He featured against Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, even exchanging shirts with Ousmane Dembélé after one of the matches.

Reflecting on his journey, Minoungou said: “I trained harder than ever. I couldn’t see everything anymore, but I could feel the game and read situations. It’s incredible what the brain can do. Sometimes I don’t see the defender at all - I sense him and react instinctively.”

Burkina Faso will continue their AFCON 2025 campaign against Algeria on 28 December. Algeria, led by Riyad Mahrez, also won their opening match against Sudan. The winner of the upcoming clash will secure automatic qualification for the knockout stage. Burkina Faso will then conclude their group matches against Sudan on 31 December.