Pair of Milo Longhorned
Published yesterday at 10:52 p.m., Updated yesterday at 11:48 p.m.
Hamari Traoré, captain and scorer this evening. LUC GNAGO / REUTERS
This Tuesday, the Eagles of Mali beat South Africa (2-0) after an intense match. After missing too many chances in the first half, the South Africans collapsed in the second half.
While Tunisia lost to Namibia (0-1) earlier in the evening, Mali did not miss its opening match by winning against South Africa (2 -0) and takes the lead in group E.
However, the match was not easy, particularly in the first half where there were many South African chances, including a completely missed penalty from striker Percy Tau. But the Eagles assumed their status and recovered in the second act to win and take control of their group.
A lively start to the match
From the start of this meeting, both teams projected themselves forward without hiding. Bafana Bafana were more realistic and worried the Malians more as half-time approached. Struggling to get the ball out, the Mali Eagles were in a hurry, suffocated and began to lose lucidity while the match still looked like it would be long. By dint of planning, the South Africans obtained a penalty to take the advantage quite quickly after numerous offensives. But Percy Tau completely missed the target and left the two teams tied. The Malians then resisted thanks to a defense which regained its seriousness before the break. Too many missed opportunities in the first half on the South African coast.
The Eagles knew how to realize their opportunities
When we returned from the locker room, the match became completely different. Much more technically comfortable, the Eagles of Mali regained height and dominated Bafana Bafana. After several minutes of pressing on the opposing goal, Sinayoko obtained a free kick just in front of the area. While Williams pushed the ball back perfectly, captain Hamari Traoré followed the action and pushed the ball into the back of the net to give his team the advantage (1-0, 59th).
Then, as a symbol, it was the most prominent attacker of this Mali team who came to increase the advantage of the Eagles. Sinayoko, perfectly served on the right of the area, deceived a helpless Williams this time (2-0, 65th). With a 2-goal lead against a completely amorphous South African team in this second act, the Malians managed the end of this meeting to win without trembling for their entry into the competition in this CAN 2024.
