Zimbabwe v Mali - Eagles to confirm against eliminated Warriors

Mali Eagles need at least a point to guarantee their place in the Total African Nations Championship, Cameroon 2020 quarterfinals, when they face already eliminated Zimbabwe in Group A matchday 3 game at Japoma Stadium in Yaounde on Sunday 24 January 2021.

On four points from their first two games, 2016 runner ups Mali jointly lead the group wit hosts Cameroon, who face Burkina Faso in a simultaneous kickoff in Yaoundé. While Zimbabwe are already eliminated as they trail the group pointless.

A point will be enough for the Eagles to reach the quarterfinals without waiting the result from Yaounde. But coach Nouhom Diane insisted it’s not going to be an easy mission.

“We are well prepared and want to qualify,” Diane said. We don’t think of the coming rounds but of the game against Zimbabwe. I was clear on this to my players; we will take matches game by game. Forget the past matches, this is another game.”

Already eliminated, the Warriors will play their last game with one thing in mind; to leave with heads high. Their coach Zdravko Logarusic blamed the tough situations he faced due to COVID-19 for his side’s results.

“We received the green light from the government to train as a team only in December. My players had just 5 training sessions before this great competition. Without a league and without training for over a year, I think we are playing well and doing our best. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I'm just giving the facts so you can understand what the situation is,” Logarusic explained.

“We will try to refresh the team by incorporating players who have not yet played, so that they bring a little freshness. Mali is a fantastic team. But we will do our best, we will not give up,” he added.

Zimbabwe and Mali have met twice at CHAN finals. Zimbabwe eliminated Mali 2-1 in 2014 quarterfinal, while Mali won 1-0 in 2016 group stage.