Mali defeated Saudi Arabia 3-1 in an international friendly game played on Tuesday in Portimao, Portugal.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia netted a late goal to force Nigeria’s Super Eagles to a 2-2 draw in another friendly tie.
Roberto Mancini’s men are now winless in eight consecutive games, losing seven and drawing one.
Also Read: Ghana’s Black Stars Get Nketiah Boost
For Mali, who will feature at next year’s AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire, it is a fourth consecutive wins for them.
Mali took the lead in the 14th minute through Moussa Doumbia while Traore made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute.
Salem Al Dawsari reduced the deficit as he scored on 58 minutes to bring the score to 2-1.
But Mali retored their two-goal lead thanks to Sinayoko who got their third on 71 minutes.
15 Comments
Hahahahaha. There you go! I don’t even know how many countries we can face with confidence at the Afcon in January with our leaky goalpost. Even Mozambique scored us first. Eben getting out of our group is not a given. It’s 50/50.
I know Nigerian fans would start drawing conclusions on how Mali is better than Nigeria and how the SE can’t win the Afcon. I could remember, the bashings were even more in 2013, After our 0-0 friendly draw with Minnows Cape Verde prior to that Afcon, then the Lack lustre first 2 games at the Afcon proper which ended in 1-1 draws against Burkina Faso and Zambia, everyone wrote us off . Then we needed 2 Victor Moses Penalties to go past Ethiopia before being pitched against Hot Favourites, CIV in the 1/4 finals, Even the NFF have already ceded the game to our opponents even before it started by already making arrangements For SE’s flight back to Nigeria. The rest is history as we overcame CIV, Mali and Burkina Faso in a dominant fashion to claim our 3rd Afcon. To be honest, we have the squad, CAPABLE of repeating the 2013 feat. We just have to keep on supporting the team.
Thanks very much sir
You surely know what is football
Although I’m criticizing uzoho
But it’ll be a surprise that uzoho might be at his best
This squad is not CAPABLE of repeating 2013 feat, the achilles hill of goalkeeping unit persists. In case of set pieces a good goalkeeper would arrange his defenders accordingly, besides cheap goals were being scored against SE. There were several occasions where goalkeepers won competitions for the teams.
Our attack is superb with the right formation, midfield is taking shape likewise defence gradually but nothing to write home about concerning goalkeeping unit.
AFCON 2024 can’t be won without quality goalkeeper, 2013 squad had good goalkeeper in Enyeama. SE is not yet a complete Team for the CUP victory next year.
Thank u my brother.
Am thanking Emecco
All this is not even about winning..it is how u win or loss . See the character in u s a team against Ghana.. 4 0 ..super eagles don’t have character on the field. By now the team suppose to have mature ..
If by now dey are conceding cheap goals wat with happen wen dey meet hard teams .
Hope uzoho watched the game, Naijas latest killjoy, hope you don’t follow us to afcon
See a SAUDI ARABIA that SUPER EAGLES can’t BEAT..no be them MALI THRASH so. Hmm..I don’t think we are ready yet…
Dream team one was thrashed 3 0 in Lagos in their last friendly before they departed for Atlanta 96. The rest is history.
Don’t always make your conclusions based on international friendly
Keep relying on past glory. smh
Shawn, what do you mean by ‘relying on past glories’?, friendlies are not the tournament proper. If the players raise their game, they can win AFCON, we have the players.!!
We don’t have a team. We don’t have the caliber of payers to deliver. Same way we paraded an attacking front during the last AFcon and lost woefully. They play like the under -23 side, nothing qualifies them as super eagles material
No two games are the same. Making beating KSA whom we lost to doesn’t mean we won’t best Mali tomorrow if we meet them. We could have scored as many as 4 goals if we had taken our chances in that game. All the coach had to do is to work on the team’s weaknesses.1. The poor conversion even with the number matches we create. 2. Poor defense especially when defending set pieces. We has similar problem against Rohr, but somehow, we plugged it. 3. Find a replacement for Uzoho and fix the goalkeeping problem once and for all. This appears to me to be the greatest problem and it baffles me how the coaching crew are going about it. The last AFCON exposed Okoye. The matches against Ghana exposed Uzoho. And keep inviting them, with no serious challenge coming from nowhere. Of Peseiro is actually serious about winning the AFCON, this is am area he should take serious.
We can all see why Nigeria is not progressing, see peoples reasoning God, people comparing Dream team with this team, the Dream was capable of winning the World Cup,2013 has leaders, had identity, above all we had victor moses and Enyeama at their prime. Pls we can’t go to a gun duel with a broom, that Yeye goalkeeper will doom that team.