Mali and Tanzania meet in Berkane today for their first game in Group C at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations held in Morocco.
Kick-off is at 8 p.m. Moroccan time (GMT+1), and fans can catch the action live on beIN Sport, CANAL+, New WorldTV, SuperSport, Azam Media, SABC, Ziggo, BAND, SportTV, and Arena Sport.
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It’s a chance for both teams to get their campaign off to a strong start in a tricky group that also includes South Africa and Ghana. The two sides haven’t met in this tournament since 2010 when Mali edged a wild 3-2 win – a match remembered for four goals in just seven first-half minutes. But that was a long time ago, and plenty has changed since.
Mali are hoping to recapture the form that saw them reach the semi-finals in 2018, their best-ever finish. They looked sharp in qualifying, scoring 20 goals and conceding only three. With PSG’s Agueicha Diarra in goalscoring form – she netted eight times during qualifying – and Fleury 91 midfielder Aïssata Traoré bringing French experience, there’s optimism in the camp.
Coach Mohamed Saloum says his side are “ready, focused and eager to go far”, while Traoré insists they’re aiming to start strong and show they mean business.
Tanzania, meanwhile, are back at WAFCON for the first time since 2010 – and they know they’re carrying the hopes of East Africa as the region’s only representative. Head coach Bakari Shime has praised the squad’s preparation and says the team are in a good place mentally ahead of the opener.
They’ll be missing two key players though: Clement Opah, who is suspended, and striker Clara Luvanga, who didn’t take part in Sunday’s training and is under medical observation.
Vice-captain Anastazia Katunzi says the team are excited to be back on the continental stage and are fully focused on executing the game plan they’ve been working on.
This is only Tanzania’s third appearance at WAFCON and they’ve never made it past the group stage. But with experienced names like Stumai Abdallah, Aisha Mnuka and Elizabeth Chenge in the mix, they’ll fancy their chances of causing a few problems.
Interestingly, the two sides met recently in a friendly in Dar es Salaam which ended 2-2 – so there’s very little between them on paper. Mali might be the favourites, but Tanzania won’t roll over.
Score prediction:
Mali are stronger on paper. They scored 20 goals in qualifiers and have the tournament’s top scorer, Agueicha Diarra. Their defence is solid too, letting in just three goals.
Tanzania are motivated but missing key players, and they’re up against a more experienced side. Unless they defend really well, Mali should win this comfortably.
MWN says Mali 2–0 Tanzania
