Latest news with #TotalEnergiesWAFCON
CAF
3 days ago
- Sport
- CAF
Saloum happier than Björkegren after draw
One shot on target. One goal. Talk about efficiency. Mali are cruising at the ongoing TotalEnergies WAFCON in Morocco. Les Aigles Dames have collected four deserved points from a possible six in a tough Group C, and they have zero complaints until this point. 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.
CAF
04-06-2025
- General
- CAF
TotalEnergies CAF Women's AFCON 2024: Democratic Republic of Congo Team Profile
Published: Wednesday, 04 June 2025 How the team qualified The DR Congo secured their spot by eliminating Equatorial Guinea in the second round of qualifiers. After a 1–1 draw in the first leg in Malabo, the Leopards sealed their qualification with a 2–1 win in the return leg in Kinshasa, booking their ticket to Morocco. TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON history This will be DR Congo's third appearance at the CAF TotalEnergies Women's AFCON finals, following previous editions in 1998 and 2006. Their best performance came in 1998, when they claimed third place. Players to watch Merveille KanjingaNicknamed 'The Cyborg,' the Congolese striker is a new signing for Paris Saint-Germain and has emerged as one of the most promising talents on the continent. Trained at TP Mazembe, she impresses with her power, speed, and ability to make penetrating runs. Dangerous in one-on-one situations, she combines explosiveness with composure in front of goal. Her 2025 move to PSG confirms her rapid rise and establishes her as one of DR Congo's standout stars for this tournament. Fideline NgoyGoalkeeper for Tout Puissant Mazembe, she brings strength and calmness to the Congolese defence. Her positioning, game reading, and top-level experience with one of the country's most structured clubs make her a key figure in the squad for this TotalEnergies WAFCON. The Head Coach: Herve Happy Originally from Cameroon, Hervé Happy is an experienced technician. He is currently serving as a technical advisor for the French Football Federation, assigned to the Paris League. A former player who came through the youth academy at Toulouse, he later played in the National league. He also worked as a physical education teacher in the French Caribbean. His coaching career spans over fifteen years, particularly in sports-study programs and as head coach of senior teams that participated in the Concacaf U15 and U20 competitions. He has also worked with the scouting departments of Olympique de Marseille and Montpellier in France. Having been with the FFF for ten years, Hervé Happy is now tasked with revitalising the Congolese women's national team, which is returning to the TotalEnergeis CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations after missing several editions. Ambitions and Group Analysis Placed in Group A alongside Morocco, Senegal, and Zambia, DR Congo head into this AFCON aiming to finally progress beyond the group stage. In such a highly competitive group, the Leopards will need strong defensive structure, clinical finishing, and true team cohesion to stand a chance of causing an upset. Under the leadership of Boumehdi, the team dreams of recapturing the form that earned them bronze in 1998 and rejoining the elite nations of African women's football.
