Monday, 6 February 2012

Mali beat Gabon, qualify for semi-finals


Keita
The Eagles of Mali are through to the semi-finals of the competition after beating co-hosts Gabon on Sunday.
Mali ended Gabon’s dream of their first ever semi-final place in an Africa Cup of Nations by beating the co-hosts 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw, as Seydou Kieta netted the winner with Pierre Aubameyang missing his spot-kick.
Keita also revealed that the Eagle refused to be paid a qualification bonus to underline how committed they are to the country.
“The players refused to receive a bonus for qualifying for this tournament to demonstrate how much we love our country,” said Keita, who was picked by CAF as the man of the match against Botswana.
“This is a very young group and I must say to the people of Mali that we love our country and we are very happy to come to this tournament to represent them.
“We qualified to this stage for the people of Mali and we will want them to continue to support us.”

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