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Black Stars - PHOTO by Senyudzorm Adadevoh

AFCON 2017: Stars set for another clincher against Mali tomorrow

Ghana Black Stars are bracing for a tough encounter against Mali tomorrow with an eye on a ticket to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.
A second successive win will guarantee qualification for the Stars ahead of the final group clash with Egypt.

After their hard-fought 1-0 win over the Cranes of Uganda, Coach Avram Grant promised an improved performance against the talented Malians, who have traditionally been a thorn in the flesh of the Ghanaians at recent AFCON tournaments and still look a big threat to Ghana’s ambitions.

The Eagles of Mali put up a fine performance in a scoreless draw against Egypt last Tuesday night in Port-Gentil and meet the Stars at the group stage for the third time in the last four tournaments, having previously clashed at the 2012 and 2013 tournaments in Equatorial Guinea/Gabon and South Africa respectively.

Ghana beat the Malians 2-0 in Franceville at the group stage five years ago, but lost by the same margin in the bronze medal game in Malabo.

The following year, history repeated itself as the Stars earned a lone goal victory in a Group B clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth before the Malians turned the tables with an emphatic 3-1 win at the same venue for the bronze.

Despite this rather uncomfortable reminder for Stars captain Asamoah Gyan, he insists those past encounters will have no bearing on tomorrow’s game.

“Every match is different. We are going in with our own strategy to win because the conditions are different,” the Ghana captain said after the team’s training yesterday afternoon.

“We watched Mali against Egypt and they are a good side, but we also want to prove ourselves on the pitch.”

Mali’s victories in the third-placed encounters at the 2012 and 2013 tournaments were inspired by their captain and playmaker Seydou Keita.

The former Barcelona and AS Roma midfielder has retired from international football but Alain Giresse’s side are blessed with abundance of talent, such as Crystal Palace striker Bakary Sako, midfielder Adama Traose of AS Monaco.

Frenchman Giresse and his charges will come into tomorrow’s match in Port-Gentil determined to avoid a repetition of past results as it will leave their qualification from the group stage hanging on their last encounter against Uganda who play Egypt later tomorrow.

Apart from right-back Baba Rahman, whose campaign lasted just 37 minutes due to injury in the team’s opening encounter with Uganda, Coach Grant has no major fitness worries as he seeks improvement in the team’s performance over that which earned them a lone goal victory.

Even though the Israeli was criticised for keeping forward Jordan Ayew on the pitch for too long when he appeared to have faded out in the second half of last Tuesday’s game, it appears the coach would make little change to the team and keep faith in the Aston Villa forward to operate alongside his brother Andre just behind captain Gyan.

Perhaps, the only major change will be a replacement for injured Rahman in defence, with RSC Anderlecht youngster Frank Acheampong set to be given a starting role to add steel and speed to their game to neutralise the pace of the Malian wingers.

There are fitness concerns over Harrison Afful, who was being treated for flu by the team’s medical staff to get him ready for tomorrow’s clash as Grant is short on options for the lateral defence.

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