Mali vs Benin preview
Posted on | January 20, 2008 | No Comments
Mali open their campaign in the Group of Death when they play Benin in the south western city of Sekondi. For Jean Francois Jodar, this match might well decide his team‘s fate in the tournament, for if they lose, they will have to beat Nigeria and Ivory Coast to have any hope of progressing.
Mali have an impressive record in the African Cup of Nations. They have made 4 appearances in the tournament and have three 4th places and one second place to show. They topped Group 9, ending up with one point greater than Benin. Mali also won the Amilcar Cabral Cup in December 2007. Their midfield trio of captain Mahamadou Diarra, Sevilla’s Seydou Keita and Liverpool’s Mohammad Sissoko is probably one of the best in the competition. The defence is mostly made up of Ligue 1 players, like Cedric Kante, Adama Coulibaly, Souleymane Diamoutene and Boucabar Kone. The pairing upfront holds plenty of promise, with Sevilla’s prolific striker Frederic Kanoute teaming up with the tall Lokomotiv Moscow forward Dramane Traore. Kanoute is a contender for the African Footballer of the Year award, along with Didier Drogba and Michael Essien.
Benin return to the African Cup of Nations after a gap of four years. In 2004, they went out without winning a single game, and scored just one goal. They would like to put their bottom placed effort at the back of their minds and approach this tournament with fresh hope, but it is more than likely that Ghana 2008 could go the same way as Tunisia 2004. One must remember that Benin qualified ahead of Togo and Sierra Leone, and drew in both their qualifying games against Mali. Reinhard Fabich will look up to the likes of Razzak Omotoyossi, Oumar Tchomogo and Mouritala Ogunbiyi to trouble the Malian defence. Fabisch took charge of the team in December ’07. The oldest person in the squad is 37 year old defender Alain Gaspoz, who also played in Tunisia four years ago.
On paper Mali should win this. But Benin have nothing to lose, and have trained in Brazil prior to this event. Mali to sneak this by a goal, with Kanoute scoring.
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