At the AFCON 2023 on Tuesday evening, Mali managed a 2-0 win over South Africa, despite having a physically weakened squad, with two Eagles players suffering from malaria.
Like Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, Mali have made a perfect start to this year’s edition of the AFCON, which is taking place in Ivory Coast. The Eagles picked up their first three points of the competition with a well-deserved victory over South Africa.
Bafana Bafana were disappointing in the second half, but coach Eric Chelle’s team managed a 2-0 win. This valuable win puts Lassine Sinayoko’s team top of Group E, level on points with Namibia, who beat Tunisia 1-0.
Despite this, Mali had to face some major physical challenges. Two of its players were not fully fit for this crucial match. National coach Eric Chelle revealed at the post-match press conference that Yves Bissouma, who was replaced in the 58th minute by Lassana Coulibaly, was suffering from malaria, as was Moussa Diarra. “Yves Bissouma and left-back Moussa Diarra are suffering from malaria,” confirmed Éric Sékou Chelle.
Both players are currently under the care of the Malian team’s medical staff and should be fit for the Eagles’ next match against Tunisia on Saturday, the second day of the group phase in Pool E.
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