WAFCON: Mali suffered against Ghana despite WAFCON draw – Saloum

Mali women’s national team head coach Mohamed Saloum ‘Housseï’ has explained how he motivated his players to slag off a poor start and secure a 1-1 draw on Friday against Ghana in their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) fixture at Stade Municipal de Berkane.

A goal in each half from Alice Kusi and Aïssata Traoré meant both sides walked away with a point in a match that neither could afford to lose, but will feel they might have won. While the draw killed Ghana’s qualification chances to the knockout stages as they remained rooted at the bottom, Les Aigles Dames increased their hopes as they moved second.

Speaking after the game, an open-minded Saloum admitted that Mali gave them a difficult game adding that his motivation to talk to the players changed the tide of the game.

“This evening, the beginning of the match was tough for us. The Ghanaians really gave us a lot of problems but at halftime, I gave our players motivation. I told the players to seize the opportunity. We want to qualify,” said Saloum as quoted by CAFOnline.

“I must say that the players were nervous. We had to get them back into the game. They understood. They are really fighters. They did fight and we got the point. It was a hard-fought point indeed.”

He continued: “You cannot control everything in a football game. Tactically and technically, as coaches we can plan for the game but at some point, we have to explain to the players what is at stake. We are representing Mali. It is not good to leave the field and make Malians sad. We want to make them happy. This is our sole goal.”

This was the second consecutive victory for Saloum against Ghana having edged them 2-1 at the 2018 edition in Accra, a year after he was appointed to lead the side.

As it stands, champions South Africa, who drew 1-1 against Tanzania, are sitting top with four points, the same number as Mali. They will finish their group campaign against Banyana Banyana at Honneur Stadium on Monday.