Mali and Ghana meet to decide
the bronze medal at the African
Nations Cup for a second
successive tournament on
Saturday. Mali beat Ghana a year ago in
Malabo to take third place at
the last edition in Equatorial
Guinea and Gabon and Saturday's
match in Port Elizabeth will go to
the side best able to put aside the trauma of missing out on the
final again. Mali were given a thrashing by
Nigeria in their last-four clash in
Durban, conceding three first-
half goals before losing 4-1. Ghana lost on post-match
penalties to the tournament's
surprise package Burkina Faso
after a thrilling 1-1 draw in
Nelspruit that went to extra
time. The defeat added to the
heartbreak the Black Stars
suffered in South Africa three
years ago when they also lost
on penalties in the World Cup
quarterfinals. "We are definitely down but will
psyche ourselves up and make
sure we go for the third place,"
Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan
said on the eve of the game. Both sides return to the Nelson
Mandela Bay Stadium after
beginning their campaigns in Port
Elizabeth. Ghana beat Mali 1-0 in their
Group C match on January 24,
winning with a first-half penalty
from Mubarak Wakaso, who is
the joint leading goal-scorer of
the competition and will be seeking to add to his
tournament tally of four. More News