* Namibia and Mali met twice during AFCON qualifiers back in 2020 as Les Aigles bagged home and away victories against the Brave Warriors
* Ghana’s dramatic draw with Mozambique took some of the jeopardy out of this game, with Mali now guaranteed a place in the knockout stages
Maravi Express
Mali midfielder Kamory Doumbia believes that his side will be hungry and determined to get the win when they take on Namibia in their final Group E fixture at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Côte d’Ivoire 2023 tonight.
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As it stands, Mali sit at the top of Group E following their 1-1 draw against Tunisia and prior to their game against the Carthage Eagles, Mali started their AFCON bid with a 2-0 win over South Africa.
Namibia head into their next game on the back of a heavy 0-4 loss to Bafana Bafana as they were unable to build momentum on their 1-0 victory against Tunisia at the start of the competition.
“I suppose it always happens at the right time because we still have a game against Mali,” Mali star Kamory Doumbia said. “We are going to try to win. We will play with hunger and determination.
“We wanted to win the match and got strong moments and then things just didn’t go our way and we couldn’t find the goals. The last match is crucial, and we will give it our best.”
Neither team has any fresh injury concerns ahead of the tie. Midfielder Yves Bissouma is expected to play a big part in the game against Namibia, after the Spurs star recently recovered from malaria.
It has been reported that Limbondi and Petrus Shitembi could start the next game on the bench for Namibia after both players were withdrawn at halftime against Bafana Bafana.
“Our transitions were not so good; second balls also, we could not manage that,” said Namibia coach Collin Benjamin, after his side’s loss to South Africa. “We were afoot late on the second balls, so the transitions were the ones that killed us after that.”
Players to watch are Namibia’s Deon Hotto and Mali’s Yves Bissouma. Hotto largely played as a left-back for Orlando Pirates in recent times and returned to his best form during the AFCON after being slotted alongside Peter Shalulile in attack.
Deon Hotto
Yves Bissouma
Bissouma — the powerful midfielder now back in the squad — will most likely be given the keys in the middle of the park. Namibia will have to be on high alert for the Spurs star, given his supreme ball carrying attributes.
Namibia and Mali met twice during Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers back in 2020 as Les Aigles bagged home and away victories against the Brave Warriors.
Ghana’s dramatic draw with Mozambique on Monday took some of the jeopardy out of this game, with Mali now guaranteed a place in the knockout stages.
They will still want to ensure top spot in Group E and Namibia will be hoping to secure their own place in the last 16 and will be a big ask for coach Benjamin’s men to win and leapfrog Mali in the group, with the Eagles unbeaten in nine group stage games at the AFCON (W5 D4), losing just one of their last 15 such games (W5 D9).
Namibia have a good chance of joining Mali in the knockout stage, though a 4-0 hammering by South Africa damaged their goal difference on MD 2. It was hardly an ideal way to follow up their impressive 1-0 win over Tunisia in their first game.
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Pre-match facts
* According to the Opta supercomputer’s predictions, Mali have a 53.4% chance of victory in this game, compared to 23.6% for Namibia.
* This will be the first encounter between Namibia and Mali at the AFCON — their last meeting came in 2022 AFCON qualifiers in November 2020 in Windhoek, with Mali winning 2-1. All three goals were scored in the first half.
* Namibia have lost eight of their 11 games at the AFCON — and having won one and lost one so far this year, they are aiming to avoid losing at least two games in every edition they’ve participated in to date.
* Mali are unbeaten in nine group stage games at the Africa Cup of Nations (W5 D4), losing just one of their last 15 such games (W5 D9).
* Namibia have kept just one clean sheet in their 11 AFCON matches to date (a 1-0 victory against Tunisia on Matchday 1 this year), conceding four or more goals in 45% of their games in the competition (5/11).
* Mali have now progressed to the knockout stage in three consecutive AFCON appearances (reached the last 16 in 2019 and 2021), the first time since doing so in each of their first four participations at the tournament between 1972 and 2004.
* Across the first two matchdays of AFCON 2023, Namibia were one of three teams (along with DR Congo DR and Cape Verde) to make no changes to their starting eleven, using just 15 players in total, the fewest of any team.
* Kamory Doumbia has assisted two of Mali’s three goals so far at AFCON 2023 (both for Lassine Sinayoko); no Mali player has ever assisted three goals in a single edition of the tournament on record (since 2010).
* Namibia’s Peter Shalulile has attempted six shots (three on target) at AFCON 2023. Across the first two matchdays only Algeria’s Youcef Belaïli (eight) had more shots without scoring in the competition.—Info from SuperSport & Opta Analyst
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