The Round of 16 at the Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations will be brought to a close on the Wednesday night with the meeting of Mali and Equatorial Guinea at the Limbe Stadium.
Kick-off is at 9pm CAT.
Equatorial Guinea have been one of the surprise packages of the tournament thus far, earning their spot in the knockout rounds by finishing second in Group E behind Ivory Coast.
They recovered from an opening loss to the Elephants by sensationally defeating reigning champions Algeria, followed by a clutch 1-0 win over Sierra Leone last Thursday – courtesy of a goal from Pable Ganet – to clinch progression.
Nzalang Nacional are very much outsiders for this clash, but coach Juan Micha Obiang is hopeful his side maintain the underdog attitude which has served them so well thus far at the Afcon.
“When you qualify for the second round of a competition, you are naturally happy,” said the Equatorial Guinea coach. “We had a great game, we knew the game against Sierra Leone was going to be difficult, but we prepared accordingly to win the game.
“We know that we are not favourites in this competition, which is why we work every day to achieve good performances.”
Mali were quietly one of the most impressive teams on show in the Group Stage, topping a tricky pool ahead of impressive debutants Gambia (who also ended unbeaten and with seven points), Tunisia and Mauritania.
Their key man has been Ibrahima Kone, who scored in the 1-0 win over Tunisia, 1-1 draw with Gambia and 2-0 win over Mauritania, and will be eager to keep up his scoring streak come Wednesday night.
Coach Mohamed Magassouba, meanwhile, is taking nothing for granted against Equatorial Guinea: “It is true that this competition is very high [of a high standard]. We made a very good start against Tunisia, the big engine of African football, then hung by Gambia which is also very catchy, tenacious and fast.
“And we finished ahead of Mauritania, who are a very good team as well and were looking to finish on a very good note naturally. For us [at this] competition, we always manage all the games with the same state of mind and we put ourselves in mind that all the games are equal.
“Anyway in this Afcon, You have found that all nations are fighting and everyone is favourite ... we are taking on our role and we are working to get there.”
In head-to-head stats, Mali and Equatorial Guinea have met in three previous matches, dating back to their first clash in 2009.
The Eagles boast a 100 per cent record, with a 3-0 win in a friendly in 2009, followed by successive 1-0 wins in March 2016 in qualifying for the following year’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
