Saloum happier than Björkegren after draw
Head coach Mohamed Saloum 'Housseï' is going about his business quietly – executing one game at a time and the fans in Morocco, those back home and around the world are content with the way things are turning out.
One by one makes a bundle
Semifinalists in the 2018 edition, Mali are targeting the same feat or even better. So far, they look like this is an achievable goal. They are hungry every time they walk onto the pitch. Even when things are not going in their favour, they stay hopeful.
And that is exactly what happened on Friday against three-time WAFCON finalists Ghana in a proper West African derby. The Black Queens dominated the first half including taking a 1-0 lead thanks to an Alice Kusi goal in the sixth minute, but tables turned in the second half when Saloum's side engaged another gear – pressed up high, found spaces and came at Ghana until they found an equalizer thanks to Aissata Traore.
'This evening, the beginning of the match was tough for us. The Ghanaians really gave us a lot of problems but at halftime, I gave our players motivation. I told the players to seize the opportunity. We want to qualify. I must say that the players were nervous. We had to get them back into the game. They understood. They are really fighters. They did fight and we got the point. It was a hard-fought point indeed,' Saloum explained in detail after the game.
'You cannot control everything in a football game. Tactically and technically, as coaches we can plan for the game but at some point, we have to explain to the players what is at stake. We are representing Mali. It is not good to leave the field and make Malians sad. We want to make them happy. This is our sole goal.'
This is the second consecutive victory for Saloum against Ghana having edged them 2-1 at the 2018 edition in Accra, a year after he was given the reigns. Mali has now scored in seven consecutive group games at the WAFCON, their longest scoring streak in group play.
This was also Mali's 25th WAFCON game and what a way to celebrate this feat!
Ghana's woes continue
Tournament football can be brutal. You blink and your fate is no longer in your hands. The Black Queens find themselves in dire straits with a point from two games and sitting at the bottom of Group C heading into the last match of the group stages.
Once again, Ghana's statistics look good after the final whistle, but they are yet to win a game at the ongoing WAFCON. Friday's 1-1 draw with Mali means that the Black Queens winless streak at the WAFCON stretches to four games now – two draws and two losses.
Ghana have now failed to win their second group games at the WAFCON in their last five appearances (2008, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2025) with an overall record in second group games at 11 games played amassing five wins, three draws and three losses.
'We did a good analysis of the game. We had chances to win it. On a normal day, we would win 9/10 times but here we are with a point. We are still in the tournament. We just need to win the last game [against Tanzania that also have one point following their 1-1 draw with defending champions South Africa],' pointed out Björkegren.
'We had 2.6 on expected goals as compared to their 0.6 chance of scoring. If we display the same performance, if we play like this, we are probably in the quarterfinals. I think I am happy with one point, there is no reason to panic at this point. We still have a chance to qualify to the quarterfinals.'
The Black Queens, who are returning to the continental showpiece for the first time since 2018, registed 18 shots at goal with three of them on target. They dominated the ball possession with 58% and had a 61% pass accuracy.
It is these numbers that Björkegren is relying on to confidently say that Ghana can turn things around and make it out of the group stages despite being in a difficult position now.
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