Hearts star continues to flourish in front of goal on international stage despite two-month Jambos drought
The Gorgie marksman was once again on target for his country during the international break
Pierre Landry Kabore added to his international goal tally in Burkina Faso’s 5-0 demolition of Guinea-Bissau.
The Hearts striker has a much better scoring record for his country than his club as he bagged his seventh goal on his tenth cap for Les Etalons on Saturday. For the Jambos, Kabore has been nowhere near as prolific, finding the target four times in his 16 appearances.
Having notched two braces for Hearts this season and recorded back-to-back hat-tricks for his country in 2025, usually Kabore’s goals resemble London buses. Remarkably, his solitary strike against Guinea-Bissau was the first time the Burkinabe has scored just once in a match since he moved to Hearts.
Kabore on target for Burkina Faso again
In a friendly match against their west African rivals, Kabore struck on the 25th minute to give his side the lead. The ball broke to the Hearts striker on the penalty spot after the Bissau defence blocked a goal-bound shot. He then used quick feet to beat the last defender and remained composed as he struck the ball home with the outside of his left boot.
Brentford’s £35m summer signing Dango Outtara then doubled the hosts lead, before Elohim Kabore (no relation) bagged a second half hat-trick to seal the win. Earlier in the season Pierre Landry Kabore scored two hat-tricks on the bounce himself, one in a World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia and the other in a friendly win over Niger.
Islam Chesnokov was the only other current Jambo on international duty. He featured for an hour in Kazakhstan’s 2-0 home win over Namibia in a loosely-worded friendly as the Hearts winger was one of eight bookings. Next up for his side is Comoros, also in front of their own fans.
Club vs country
The natural answer to the question of why Kabore is performing better for his country over club is simply because of the difference in standard. Although despite Guinea-Bissau being one of the smallest nations in Africa, they’ve still managed qualify for four of the last five editions of AFCON.
For Hearts, he’s found himself as a backup to Claudio Braga and Lawrence Shankland, while getting the occasional start under Derek McInnes. His brace against Dundee United at Tannadice in January was the last time he found the target in maroon. Before that, he scored twice against the other side of Dundee at Tynecastle in a fixture where he looked fully focused from the get-go.
Kabore has shown glimpses in Gorgie that he can emulate his international heroics, however, getting a tune out of him on a consistent basis is another matter. Next up for Burkina Faso is another friendly against Guinea Bissau on Tuesday, where the striker will look to add to his tally.
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