African News

Take a look at our player breakdown of Mali and Ghana during their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations bronze medal clash on Saturday.

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Mali:

Soumaila Diakite: Played an out-of-sorts game between the sticks and made a ghastly blunder to allow Ghana to grab a late consolation. 5/10

Fousseni Diawara: Gave Mali width on the pitch and proved a driving force when breaking from defence into attack. 6/10

Salif Coulibaly: Put in some impressive challenges but was also guilty of ball-watching on several occasions. 6/10

Adama Coulibaly: Stood head and shoulders above the Ghana strikers as he bossed the back-line both in the air and on the ground. 8/10

Adama Tamboura: Another star performer for Mali on the day and hardly put a foot wrong, while took no chances when under pressure and was quick to clear any potential threat. 7/10

Ousmane Coulibaly: Made some decent runs out wide but was lacking in his delivery and didn't provide too many scoring opportunities. 5/10

Kalilou Traore: Did well to marshal the ball in the midfield but went in a bit recklessly with his challenges and was lucky to escape a booking on more than one occasion. 6/10

Mahamane Traore: Had a quite game in midfield and was unable to effect the game as much as he would have liked. 5/10

Mahamadou Samassa: Proved a constant threat to the Ghana defence and opened the scoring with a sensational diving header, and was unlucky not to get a second after sending his clipped effort against the upright. 8/10

Seydou Keita: Another inspired performance by the captain was rounded off with a simple goal, although his influence in attack was felt from the very first whistle. 9/10

Cheick Diabate: Was full of running and caused the Ghana defenders plenty of headaches, but was wasteful in the final third and was able to properly threaten the goal. 6/10

Substitutes

Sigamary Diarra: Proved Mali's only substitution for the match and capped off a fine 22-minute performance with a smash-and-grab injury-time goal. 7/10

Ghana:

Fatau Dauda: Didn't perform too badly on the day but will know he should have done better after conceding three goals. 5/10

Richard Boateng: Struggled to stay with the flow of the game and was guilty of needlessly conceding possession in his own half. 5/10

Isaac Vorsah: Made some vital interceptions but was lacking with his distribution to allow some decent counter-attacking chances go begging. 6/10

John Boye: Looked solid defensively and made some decent tackles, but struggled in the air and was out-jumped for the flick-on that led to Mali hitting the post when still 1-0 up, while an injury cut his game short at half-time. 5/10

Harrison Afful: Was unable to have a telling effect on the game as his passing and movement off the ball was lacking on the day. 4/10

Mubarak Wakaso: Proved a real live-wire for Ghana, but let his side down after missing a penalty, while he also picked up a yellow card for a dangerous tackle from behind. 5/10.

Mohammed Awal: Played a solid game and was commanding in the air, but missed a great chance to score when dawdling in possession to allow the defence to nip the ball off his toe before he even got off his shot. 6/10

Kwadwo Asamoah: Was full of running both on and off the ball, and his tireless work rate was rewarded with a long-range goal for the Black Stars. 6/10

Solomon Asante: Looked really dangerous in the first half and proved a constant threat down the flanks, although his delivery into the area was lacking as he set up only a few chances. 6/10

Christian Atsu: Worked tirelessly for his side and tested the goalkeeper on a number of occasions, but was yanked off shortly after half-time. 6/10

Asamoah Gyan: Was unable to have any real impact on the match, but did bring a fine save out of the goalkeeper with a rasping free-kick, but was ultimately substituted in the final 15 minutes. 5/10

Substitutes

Albert Adomah: Was given the final 20 minutes to try and influence the game but was unable to make the most of his time as he remained largely in the background. 4/10

Emmanuel Clottey: Was only given 15 minutes to try and change the outcome of the match but unable to make an impact. N/A

Jonathan Mensah: Looked solid after coming on at half-time but proved ineffective in setting up the Ghanaians on the counter attack following some wayward passing. 5/10