Mali aim to stop DRC

Mali’s Yves Bissouma started both the quarter-final and semi-final encounters against Tunisia and Ivory Coast on the bench.

On Thursday when Mali beat Ivory Coast 1-0, Hamidou Sinayoko first half penalty squander notwithstanding, Bissouma had to step off the bench to score the winner on 88 minutes and earn forgiveness from his coach Djibril Drame for his wrongdoings here.

“Number 8 (Bissouma) is the best player of my team and for the past few games, he was punished for some stuff he did,” said Drame of Bissouma’s transgressions in camp, albeit without offering much details. “And after realising we were losing (not scoring) the match, I told him, kid, I’m taking you to the field and you have to score. If you don’t score, I’m taking you out. He reached the field, he scored a goal.”

Drame will hope Bissouma does the same tonight against a DRC side hoping to win their second Chan title since their 2009 honours in Ivory Coast. But he also knows their final opponents are a different cast altogether.
“We know our opponents and we respect them,” he said of DRC, “It’s a very good team.
“We will try to learn from the matches we have already played, study the game of our opponents more and that is where we shall make the tactical and technical plan of the much.”

And what about talk that DRC are favourites? “Saying that Congo are the favourites would be saying too much because finals are not like the other games,” countered Drame after taking Mali to their first ever Chan final.
“They reached the finals, and we are in the finals, so we shall see what happens in the match.”
DRC coach Florent Ibenge agrees. “People can think what they want to think but for us we know we are not (favourites).

“According to me, this game, it is 50-50, because before the match, anyone can say what they want but on the field of play, that’s where everything happens.

Sinayoko and Diarra are the Malians Ibenge’s men will watch while Drame will ask his players to starve Jonathan Bolingi and Elia Meschack or they pay.
DRC will miss the inspirational Padou Bompunga through suspension while injured Héritier Luvumbu remains a huge doubt.

DRC - MALI HEAD TO HEAD
Games: 3
Mali wins: 2
DRC wins: 0
Draws: 1
Matches
18 Aug 2004:
DR Congo 0-3 Mali, International friendly
17 Nov 2010:
Mali 3-1 DR Congo, International friendly
28 Jan 2013:
DR Congo 1-1 Mali, Africa Cup of Nations

RWANDA CHAN 2016

FINAL
DR Congo vs. Mali
Amahoro Stadium, SS9 7PM
Third place play-off
Guinea vs. Ivory Coast
Amahoro Stadium, SS9 4PM