This will be the first meeting between Mali and Equatorial Guinea at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). And it will be the first time since 2012 that Mali’s first meeting with an opponent in the competition has been in the knockout stages (1-1 v Gabon in the quarter-final, winning on penalties).
Also Read : MALI VS EQUATORIAL GUINEA : GAME PREVIEW AND TEAM NEWS
Mali will be relying on an excellent pair of midfielders in Amadou Haidara and Yves Bissouma, besides the likes of Massadiou Haidara, Seydou Doumbia, Hamari Traoré and Kalifa Koulibaly have shown very good form since the start of the competition.
The Eagles’ objective will be to do better than the 1972 edition in Cameroon, where they finished second behind Congo. That starts with a place in the quarterfinals but they have to go past Equatorial Guinea first.
Equatorial Guinea came into their group as underdogs. But the Nzalang Nacional managed to qualify from a tough pool that included Ivory Coast and Algeria. Stopping the unbeaten record of holders Algeria with a famous 1-0 win guided them all the way through to the knockout stage.
Having finished fourth at home in 2015, Equatorial Guinea might be looking for a similar feat, or even to go further this time round. To do so they will have first to challenge the brilliant Eagles of Mali.
Confirmed starting XI
Equatorial Guinea : Owono; Akapo, Obiang, Coco, Ndong; Machin, Ganet; Iban Salvador, Bikoro, Miranda; Hanza
Mali : Mounkoro; H.Traoré, Sacko, Kouyate, M.Haidara; A.Haidara, Bissouma, Camara; Doumbia, Koné, Malouda
