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Played
February 9, 2013 6:00 p.m. GMT
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium — Port Elizabeth
Referee: E. Otogo-Castane
Attendance: 6000
February 9, 2013 6:00 p.m. GMT
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium — Port Elizabeth
Referee: E. Otogo-Castane
Attendance: 6000
Mali - Ghana Preview: History repeats itself as Black Stars and Eagles battle for Afcon bronze
Mali is seeking to make amends after losing 1-0 to the Black Stars at the group stage of the tournament to grab the third place position at the 2013 Afcon
By Umar-Farouk Atipaga
Ghana fans at 2013 Afcon (getty)
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
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MALI
 Samassa Diawara, Tamboura, Wague, N’Diaye C. Diarra, Keita, K. Traore M. Traore, S. Diarra, Diabate |
GHANA  Dauda Afful, Vorsah, Boye, Asamoah Boateng, Asante Badu, Atsu, Wakaso Gyan |
Last year in Equatorial Guinea, the Malians stood tall after beating Ghana 2-0 to clinch the bronze medal. In fact, the Black Stars had beaten Mali by the same score line earlier in the competition when they met in Group B.
Interestingly, the two west African sides were paired again at the group stage this year. Just as in the 2012 edition, Ghana won the group match 1-0 courtesy of a Mubarak Wakaso goal from the spot.
Saturday’s encounter is a matter of motivation after disappointments in their respective semi-final matches. The Eagles of Mali were thrashed 4-1 by the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the first semi-final match on Wednesday. It was the kind of result which left many baffled, as a much tighter match was expected.
But Patrice Carteron’s men failed to live up to the expected level of the match as the Nigerians walked comfortably into the final.
On the other hand, the Black Stars of Ghana, who were seen as one of the major favourites, missed out on another attempt to make it into the final after a 3-2 defeat to Burkina Faso on penalties.
The match ended 1-1 after 120 minutes and the Stallions were the ones smiling as they booked their first appearance in the final of the Afcon following a penalty shootout victory. Ghana’s regular starting line-up will change slightly with Mohammed Rabiu suspended. The injured John Paintsil is likely to stay out as well.
Kwesi Appiah will need to spend time psyching up the four-time African champions, who are clearly downhearted after another unsuccessful attempt at winning their fifth continental title.
Seydou Keita will certainly be the danger man for the Malians and it will be a major achievement for him to engineer the team to a second successive third place finish.
One of the things the Malians must guard against is how they handle the Ghanaian attackers in the penalty area. Ghana have won three penalties at the tournament which reveals how slippery some of their attackers are.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
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Ghana have gone 31 years without a title at the senior level on the continent. -
Ghana’s Mubarak Wakaso is the joint top scorer at the Afcon after netting four goals. The Espanyol midfielder scored three of the four goals from the spot.
- Ghana and Mali are meeting for the fourth time in the last year and the Eagles have never won the Afcon title.
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Black Stars captain, Asamoah Gyan is two goals away from equalling Wilberforce Mfum’s record as the highest Ghanaian scorer in the history of the Afcon.
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The Al Ain striker has scored six goals in his campaigns at the Afcon.
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Mali have suffered the second highest defeat at the current tournament after losing 4-1 to Nigeria.
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The two teams are meeting in the third place play-off for the second successive time.
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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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Mali 2-1 Ghana
- 21.17 %
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Mali 1-2 Ghana
- 17.35 %
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Mali 0-2 Ghana
- 13.52 %
| Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) | 9 Feb 2013 | Mali 3 - Ghana 1 |
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| Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) | 24 Jan 2013 | Ghana 1 - Mali 0 |
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| Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) | 11 Feb 2012 | Ghana 0 - Mali 2 |
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| Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) | 28 Jan 2012 | Ghana 2 - Mali 0 |
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| World Cup Qualification 2014 (Africa) (WCQA) | 15 Nov 2009 | Ghana 2 - Mali 2 |
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Mali
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| 24 Mar 2013 | Rwanda 1 - Mali 2 | WCQA |
| 6 Mar 2013 | Morocco 2 - Mali 1 | FR |
| 9 Feb 2013 | Mali 3 - Ghana 1 | ACN |
| 6 Feb 2013 | Mali 1 - Nigeria 4 | ACN |
| 2 Feb 2013 | South Africa 1 - Mali 1 | ACN |
Ghana
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| 24 Mar 2013 | Ghana 4 - Sudan 0 | WCQA |
| 9 Feb 2013 | Mali 3 - Ghana 1 | ACN |
| 6 Feb 2013 | Burkina Faso 1 - Ghana 1 | ACN |
| 2 Feb 2013 | Ghana 2 - Cape Verde 0 | ACN |
| 28 Jan 2013 | Niger 0 - Ghana 3 | ACN |
| 16 | Soumbeyla Diakite | Goalkeeper |
| 22 | Fousseyni Diawara | Defender |
| 3 | Adama Tamboura | Defender |
| - | Adama Coulibaly | Defender |
| - | Salif Coulibaly | Defender |
| - | Ousmane Coulibaly | Defender |
| - | Mohamed Traoré | Striker |
| 12 | Seydou Keita | Midfielder |
| 17 | Mahamane El Hadji Traoré | Midfielder |
| - | Cheick Tidiane Diabaté | Striker |
| - | Mamadou Samassa | Striker |
| - | Mamadou Samassa | Goalkeeper |
| 22 | Aly Yirango | Goalkeeper |
| - | Idrissa Coulibaly | Defender |
| - | Molla Wague | Defender |
| - | Mahamadou Bamba N'Diaye | Defender |
| 20 | Mohamed Lamine Sissoko | Midfielder |
| - | Sambou Yatabare | Striker |
| - | Samba Sow | Midfielder |
| - | Samba Diakité | Midfielder |
| 7 | Cheick Fanta Mady Diarra | Striker |
| 10 | Modibo Maiga | Striker |
| - | Sigamary Diarra | Midfielder |
| 16 | Fatau Dauda | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Richard Boateng | Defender |
| - | Mohammed Awal | Defender |
| 5 | Isaac Vorsah | Defender |
| 21 | John Boye | Defender |
| 23 | Harrison Afful | Defender |
| - | S. Asante | Midfielder |
| 20 | Kwadwo Asamoah | Midfielder |
| - | Wakaso | Midfielder |
| 3 | Asamoah Gyan | Striker |
| 4 | Christian Twasam Atsu | Striker |
| 1 | Daniel Adjei | Goalkeeper |
| 16 | Adambathia Kwarasey | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | John Pantsil | Defender |
| 12 | Jerry Akaminko | Defender |
| 8 | Jonathan Mensah | Defender |
| 6 | Anthony Annan | Midfielder |
| - | Badu | Midfielder |
| 9 | Derek Boateng | Midfielder |
| - | Albert Adomah | Midfielder |
| 13 | Mohammed Rabiu | Midfielder |
| 17 | Emmanuel Clottey | Striker |
| - | R. Boakye | Striker |
| Seydou Keita | |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Squad Number: | 12 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Wakaso | |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Squad Number: | 0 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
Results
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Didier Drogba Striker Galatasaray |
6 | 3 |
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Mbokani Striker Anderlecht |
5 | 2 |
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Alain Traoré Midfielder Lorient |
5 | 0 |
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Wakaso Midfielder Espanyol |
4 | 3 |
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Victor Moses Midfielder Chelsea |
4 | 2 |