Ghana’s Black Stars this evening face a repeat of last year when they finished fourth in the Africa Cup of Nations after going down 2-0 to Mali.
The Black Stars will be on a double mission to avenge that defeat to Mali and also attempt to mask the disappointment of their penalty shoot-out elimination at the hands of Burkina Faso in the semi-final last Wednesday night.
Ghana, down and out after their shock defeat to the Burkinabes, will try to pick themselves up against Mali tonight in a third-place play-off in Port Elizabeth.
Their captain Asamoah Gyan’s disappointment was written all over his face during a post-match press conference on Wednesday but yesterday he put up a brave face saying they would fight to find solace by winning the bronze medal.
“It was very painful losing in the penalty shootout, but we are trying to pick ourselves up so that we can win the third place.
“We know it will not be good enough but it will help ease the pain,” said Gyan.
Apart from Gyan, Ghana’s coach Kwesi Appiah will look up to Christian Atsu and Mubarak Wakaso in the quest for the third-place finish.
Ghana booted out the Flames 3-0 on aggregate to qualify for the continental showpiece.
Mali will also be looking at recovering from their 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Nigeria in the semi-final.
Their world-class midfielder Sedou Keita was no match for John Mikel Obi during the match, but he has vowed to give out his best shot this evening.
“We were out of sorts against Nigeria but we’ll try to make up for it by winning the third-place match,” said Keita.
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