Mali will face the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire on Saturday evening in their second 2015 CAF African Cup of Nations, Group D match at the Estadio de Malabo in Equatorial Guinea targeting their maiden win. Kick-off is at 6pm.
Both sides are fresh from 1-1 draws against Guinea and Cameroon respectively, and this clash means both teams will aim for nothing other than three points in a bid to secure a spot in the next stage of the tournament.
Although the Ivoirians will be crippled ahead of this one due to the fact that striker Gervinho will be absent after receiving his marching orders against Guinea on Tuesday evening, coach Herve Renard will possibly look at Max Gradel to replace the Roma striker.
Looking at the Eagles camp, they’re motivated after meeting with the Lions and getting a point as they’re yet to defeat the West African side.
To midfielder Geoffrey Serey Die, they have a good team which is capable of going far in this prestigious tournament.
“We have a team good enough to go far in this competition, Mali may be a step up from Guinea but each match has his own reality,” said Die.
“We are going to show a different face against Mali, anyway, it is going to be war against them.”
However, to the Eagles midfielder Sambou Yatabare, who was awarded as the man-of-the match against Finke’s men, it was disappointing not to have won their match last Tuesday.
Despite being disappointed, Yatabare also pointed to some positives that came from this match which they can take going forward against the likes of the Elephants and Guinea respectively.
"We could have won this match, I don't know if it was a mistake from our side or a great play from the Cameroonians - we are disappointed and we need to correct our mistakes," he said.
"We had a great game. We were strong defensively and I am sure we can take that going forward.”
The result in this game is set to change the standings in Group D as all the four teams have amassed one point thus far and three points are at stake as both coaches, Henryk Kasperzcak and Renard, will eye maximum points to consolidate their chances of a second round qualification.
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