Mali vs Benin – OpenThread

It’s Mali vs Benin in the second game from Group B. We’re not LiveBlogging this one, but will be providing updates on the major action below and we invite everyone to join in and discuss the game. Kick-off is 19:30 local time.

Final Score: Mali 1-0 Benin

90 + 3′ Mali gets a mostly-deserved win, although Benin created some good chances. The other games of this group are going to be interesting.

89′ Sidibe out, Traore in for Mali. No more subs for either side.

81′ Benin substitution that I completely missed. This is why I don’t liveblog.

79′ Diarra is on the field and apparently okay.

76′ Head to head contact, and Mahamadou Diarra is down. He moves to the side of the field and looks groggy. This would be a huge loss for Mali.

71′ Toure off, Diakite on for Mali

69′ Tchomogo off, Maiga on for Benin

62′ Benin is up to 43% possession.

55′ Traore out, Sidibe in for Mali

52′ Oketola out, Sessegnon is for Benin

51′ Somebody booked for Mali — I was away from the computer for a sec and didn’t see who. sorry!

49′ GOAL!!! Kanoute clinically puts away the penalty. 1-0 Mali.

47′ uh-oh. Bad for Benin. Tackle from behind in the box. Penalty awarded to Mali. Gaspoz is booked.

45 + 1′ Half time. Still 0-0. Mali is the better team, but Benin seemed to grow in self-assurance as the game remained scoreless. Second half could be interesting.

41′ Toure for Mali gets booked for a tackle from behind.

30′ Mali has 63% possession. But Benin has still managed to look dangerous occasionally.

21′ Mahamadou Diarra is booked for not waiting for the whistle on the free kick.

19′ Adenon for Benin is the first one in the books.

00′ — Okay. Lights are on. Here we go.

– And now we’re watching highlights from Nigeria-Ivory Coast. Still no lights.

– Video is now showing warmups. Taken when they had light. The fans are dancing and providing their own entertainment. I wish it was light enough to see more.

– Lights are still out. Kanoute is starting, contrary to some published reports. Sessegnon of Le Mans not starting for Benin. I’ll post starting lineups when I find them.

– Pre-match. Lights are currently out on the pitch. What happens now? Pre-match coin toss has taken place.

Welcome all. Benin will be in white. Mali in a very eye-catching green w/yellow and red. We’ll get underway if the lights go back on. They’re going ahead with the pre-match show, though.

PREVIEW

The Big Picture: Group B. Mali vs Benin. Eagles vs Squirrels. Sekondi. 19:30 kick-off local time. (19:30 GMT, 20:30 CET, 14:30 EST, 11:30 PST)

Here we have the Mali Eagles vs. the Benin Squirrels. And if you’re a Benin fan, you’re ignoring the fact that Eagles are airborne raptors who take delight in swooping down to snatch up and consume small rodents. Like squirrels. No parallels whatsoever.

Group B is officially the tournament’s Group O’Death: In addition to Mali and Benin, we have overachievers Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire. Mali is favored in this game, but if Benin is going to get a win, or perhaps even a draw, this would be the best game to do it in. Or, as Brad says in his preview over on the Mali blog:

The two West African sides are quite familiar with each other after qualifying for the ACN from the same group at the expense of my beloved Togo. The two meetings between the teams both ended in draws, 1-1 in March 2007, and 0-0 in June 2007. So Benin is a pretty equal opponent, right? Well, looking at the squad list on paper one would think that the Squirrels are over-matched but small West African nations should never be under-estimated, isn’t that right France?

(Brad’s a Togo fan. In case you hadn’t noticed.)

Scouting:
Mali: Mali has a few high-performers in the European game. The most recognizable name is probably Fredi Kanoute, who plies his trade at Sevilla in Spain’s La Liga. He’s played 105 games for Sevilla and scored 54 goals, so he’s definitely somebody Benin’s defense will need to pay close attention to. Other names include midfielder Seydou Keita , new to Sevilla this year; midfielder (in the Makelele mold) Mahamadou Diarra, who plays at Real Madrid; and Momo Sissoko, who is currently not having the best of years at Liverpool. As Daryl said in his team introduction:

Momo Sissoko’s horrendously poor form for Liverpool will be a concern, although it’s equally possible he’ll use the AFCON as a shop window and play out of his skin to earn a move away from Anfield.

Benin:
Benin doesn’t have the superstar names of Mali (or of the other Group B teams), so any chance of survival will come from playing out of their minds and relying on teamwork. They do have a couple of France Ligue 1 players — twenty-year-old midfielder Oscar Olou of FC Rouen and twenty-three-year-old midfielderStephane Sessegnon of Le Mans (a team which gained headlines last week for knocking off Ligue 1 leaders Lyon in the Coupe de France.)

Team blogs: Blogger Brad has Mali covered. We’re still hoping to find a Benin blogger, so if this is your team and you’d like to write about them, (or if you’d just like to adopt them for the duration of the tournament) let us know.

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