Mali will look to secure the top spot against Namibia in Group E of the Africa Cup of Nations. Mali is the only side in the group to have not lost after the first two games. Namibia is now tied for second place with South Africa and is still very much in the running.
Preview (Namibia vs. Mali)
When all is said and done, Namibia will have happy memories of this tournament. It has been historic for The Brave Warriors, regardless of the result of this match. On matchday one, Namibia produced one of the biggest upsets of the campaign. They defeated the highly anticipated Tunisians in a historic first-ever triumph. When they played neighboring South Africa on Sunday night, they were unable to build on that effort and lost 4-0 after falling in the first half due to a Percy Tau penalty.
Nevertheless, they won their first game in the Africa Cup of Nations, their first versus The Carthage Eagles as well. They will now try to accomplish a second first by advancing to the knockout stage. On Saturday, the teams battled it out in a close 1-1 tie. In the tenth minute, Lassine Sinayoko scored the first goal for The Eagles with a beautiful left-footed effort after receiving a lovely assist from Kamory Doumbia.
That came after a great opening match of the tournament against South Africa. They were fortunate to win 2-0 despite Tau missing a penalty kick with the score tied at zero. Eric Chelle’s team, nevertheless, needs merely a draw or better here given their play this year. They have defeated this opponent in four of their six meetings and have only lost once. They will be confident in obtaining the necessary outcome.
Team News
Peter Shalulile, the attacker for Mamelodi Sundowns, is expected to head The Brave Warriors’ lineup. He appears to have fully recovered from the injury that had jeopardized his participation in this competition. Following their withdrawals at halfway against South Africa, Absalom Iimbondi and Petrus Shitembi may begin this match on the bench, with Bethuel Muzeu and Ngero Katua potentially starting in their place in the starting 11. There are no fresh injury concerns to report.
Namibia 1-1 Mali
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