Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund is backing Mali to win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations because of the intelligent football they play as well as a result of the conflict the country is experiencing.
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Since early January the northern part of Mali has been involved in a war with Islamic extremists, the French army joining the Mali government to combat the rebels.
The Mali players participating at the AFCON have said they are competing at the tournament to give their countrymen hope with captain Seydou Keita even going so far as to reveal he would pay his teammates their bonuses to further engineer some much-needed goodwill.]
And Igesund believes that the West Africa country needs their players to be victorious to give them a sense of pride during their time of conflict.
"For players burdened by the thought that their country is threatened by civil war, it would be hailed worldwide as a dramatic sentimental triumph," said Igesund.
"And ... I am impressed by the thoughtful, calculated style of soccer employed in the team by French coach Patrice Carteron, something I learnt from bitter experience in our nail-biting defeat," he said of the quarter-final clash against the Eagles who beat Bafana in a penalty shoot-out.
The scores were level after 120 minutes with Tokelo Rantie's opener cancelled out by Seydou Keita, with Mali going on to win 3-1 in the shoot-out.
The Eagles take on Nigeria at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, kickoff is at 5pm.
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