Saturday, 9th February 2013
Mali Vs Ghana – Nelson Mandela Bay @ 8.00pm
Mali and Ghana will repeat what they did at the last edition when they meet in a third place off at the 2013 Africa Nations Cup on Saturday evening at the Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth.
Mali was outclassed by Nigerian Super Eagles in the semi-finals succumbing to a 4-1 defeat while Ghana lost to less fancied Stallions of Burkina Faso 3-2 on penalties after drawing 1-1after extra time.
In 2012, the two nations were grouped together with Ghana winning the group tie 2-0 but Mali revenged with a similar score line at this stage in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Like in 2012, the two faced each in group B with Ghana’s Black Stars coming out on top with a 1-0 win over the eagles. It remains to be seen whether Seydou Keita inspired side can plot revenge.
Both Coaches are set to give opportunities to their fringe players to feature in the game but Mubarak Wakaso who has so far netted four goals is likely to be the main man for Kwesi Appiah’s charges.
The venue for this third and fourth place finish match will be familiar to these two teams. It is the city in which they based for in the duration of the group phase. Ghana will be playing their fifth match of the tournament at this venue, they are unbeaten in all.
