Nigeria will take confidence into final –Mali Coach

Category: Sports Published on Friday, 08 February 2013 05:00 Written by Orkula Shaagee

Head Coach of Mali national football team to the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations here, Patrice Carteron has said that the confidence in the Nigerian team that saw them whitewash his side 4-1 in the semi-final of the soccer fiesta would propel the Nigerian team to challenge for the title against Burkina Faso on Sunday.

Carteron, a chat with reporters after the semi-final duel at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, said it was the same confidence that help the Stephen Keshi-tutored side to humiliate them in the semis on Wednesday.

He dismissed the notion that Mali lost to Nigeria because Keshi being a former coach of the Malian team knows the players, saying he (Keshi) does not know all the players.

“There is no relationship between what happened today with the Nigerian coach; he knows certain players but he doesn’t know all the players,” said Carteron.

“I am proud that after so much hard work the players were able to play well and even though we didn’t go through to the final, I am still positive about the team.

“Regarding Nigeria, they are a good team and they have a lot of confidence after beating Ivory Coast and after what happened today.

“They will take that into the final, but this is football and anything can happen”, Carteron said.