Africa: TotalEnergies U17 AFCON - We Will Be At an Advantage Over Cameroon, Say Mali

3 May 2023
Confederation of African Football (Giza)

Mali's head coach Soumaïla Coulibaly believes the fact that his team has already played one match at the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Algeria will offer them an advantage when they take on holders Cameroon on Thursday.

With the group trimmed to three teams, Mali had their first match against Burkina Faso on Monday winning 1-0, while Cameroon are yet to play following South Sudan's elimination.

"The first three points releases us from pressure. Now we go into this game with a relaxed mind to seek for qualification," Coulibaly said.

The tactician now says they will use that advantage to try and get a positive result against the defending champions to book an early ticket to the quarter finals.

"We will try to win the game because it is a group of three and a win will assure us of a top spot. We are focused on that," the former Malian international said during Wednesday's pre-match press conference.

The coach adds; "We also came for the title. Even if they are the defending champions, we are also favourites as we have won the title twice too."

Skipper Ousmane Simpara also notes that his side will give in a good account of themselves to ensure victory and passage to the knockout phase of the competition.

"We will try to control the game from the first minute to be able to stand a chance to win. We will do everything possible to get a win. We have one ambition to try and win the match and go on to win the Cup," noted the captain

Read the original article on CAF.

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