Malian forward Mamadou Doumbia says the current team want to write their own history, and challenge for the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title in Algeria.
Mali has two titles to their name, won in 2015 and 2017, and now, the class of 2023 want to have a chapter of their own in the history books.
Doumbia was named man of the match as Mali cruised into the quarter finals on Thursday with a 2-0 win over defending champions Cameroon to finish top of Group C.
"We will try to do everything to honor the Malian people. We want to carry the flag high and follow in the footsteps of our elder brothers in 2015 and 2017. We came here to write our own history," Doumbia said.
The striker scored his second goal of the tournament with a sublime finish against Cameroon, and he topped it off with a performance that saw him named the match's best player.
Doumbia said the team was delighted to bag a second win and affirm a place in the last eight.
"I am really delighted to be named man of the match and of course top of that as we won the game and played well as a team. The work that the coaches put into training and the hard work the players had on the pitch gave us this victory," Doumbia who plays for AS Black Stars in Mali says.
The West Africans will now await the second best placed third finishers from either Group A or B in the quarter finals.
