Mali v Equatorial Guinea – No predictions
Mali faces Equatorial Guinea in the Round of 16 last game on Wednesday in Limbe, with a place in the quarterfinals at stake.
Date: 26 January 2022
Time: 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT)
Venue: Limbe Stadium, Limbe
Round of 16
Match: Mali v Equatorial Guinea
Mali – Eagles for more
Against many expectations, Mali made an excellent start to the competition. Two wins and a draw guaranteed the Eagles top spot of their group and a place in the Round of 16.
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 econd behind Congo. That starts with a place in the quarterfinals but they have to go past Equatorial Guinea first.
What they said
Mohamed Magassouba (Coach, Mali)
This group has matured, we adapt to the reality of the match. Behind self-sacrifice, will and power, we play to make our people proud. We will face a good team from Equatorial Guinea. We respect them but we will play to win. I always tell my players we play to win; we want this cup. Mali is one of the best nations in African football, it takes a continental trophy to top it off.
Aliou Dieng (Midfielder, Mali)
It's an honor for me to be in this young group. As I play for Al Ahly in Egypt, I’m proud to represent the players of the African leagues. In our philosophy, we do not underestimate our opponent. We are ready, and we will take the match like all matches by playing our football.
Equatorial Guinea - Replicating 2015
Nzalang Nacional came into their group as underdogs but managed to qualify from a tough pool that included Côte d'Ivoire 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.
What they said
Juan Micha (Coach, Equatorial Guinea)
We are motivated to play, and will just apply our system with our way of doing things. The players are concerned with the same state of mind. We don't play according to the opponent, each match has its story. We respect the teams but we go for the win without fear because we have worked hard, we have shown that we can go further.
Pablo Ganet (Midfielder, Equatorial Guinea)
We will try to make our beautiful country proud. I thank the coach for having selected me with precious teammates. We are not lacking confidence. We are going to face a strong opponent, but our team will be conquering and playful.