Mali show class in AFCON opener blow away South Africa

Eagles of Mali left no one in doubt they have come for business as they handed Bafana Bafana a 2-0 defeat in their AFCON group stage opener on Tuesday at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo

Two quick goals within and interval of six minutes were enough to hand the Eagles two goal and three points.

Thus Mali and Namibia were super winners of the day. While the Eagles blew away Bafana Bafana, Brave Warriors of Namibia created an upset beating highly rated Tunisia by a lone goal.

South Africa held their own in the first half but Mali upped the tempo and dictated the match after the restart as they scored two goals in six minutes from captain Hamari Traore and Lassine Sinayoko in the 60th and 66th minutes respectively.

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As a result of this defeat, Bafana find themselves bottom of the log standings and they are already in a must-win situation in their next Group E match against unpredictable Namibia on Sunday.

Namibia will go into that match with confidence sky high as they produced a gallant performance to stun Tunisia 1-0 as they registered their first win of the tournament in the earlier match Tuesday.

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Namibia’s win over former champions was secured through a late header by Orlando Pirates midfielder Deon Hotto.

To keep their hopes alive in the tournament, Bafana will have to beat the Brave Warriors of Namibia in a match where coach Hugo Broos will be looking for an improved performance.