Mali eyeing redemption against Morocco in Bamako

Molla Wague of Mali challenged by Luwaga Kizoto of Uganda during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Finals match between Uganda and Mali at the Oyem Stadium in Gabon on 25 January 2017 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Monday Sep 04, 2017. 14:30

Mali will bank on their home ground advantage when they host Morocco for their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.

The Eagles are under pressure to return to winning ways following an embarrassing 6-0 defeat at the hands of their visitors last week in Rabat.

The heavy defeat has left the West Africans sitting at number four in Group C standings with one point from two losses and one draw.

Coach Alain Giresse will now have to uplift the morale of his team and push them to fight for the full three points in front of their home crowd in Bamako.

Shifting focus to the Lions of the Atlas, coach Herve Renard has challenged his men to forget the 6-0 win and focus on completing the job away.

Although his side is high in confidence, they will have to guard against complacency to ensure they challenge Cote d'Ivoire at the top of the table.

The North Africans occupy the second spot with five points from one win and two draws so far in their campaign. A win will see them with eight points at the top the table, provided the Elephants lose to Gabon on the same day.

“We did well against Mali, we intimidated them into mistakes and voila!,” said Renard.

“There are still three qualifier games ahead of us, but Tuesday’s match is the most important one for me.

“We should forget about this one now and look forward a great result in Bamako.”

The match will be staged at the Stade 26 Mars in Bamako on Tuesday, getting underway 21:00 (CAT).