Guinea and Mali will compete in the third and fourth place playoff of the TotalEnergies CAF U23 Africa Cup of Nations.
Despite missing out on the opportunity to reach the finals after defeats to Egypt and Morocco respectively, there is still a lot at stake in the match. A third-place finish guarantees qualification for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
Africa has been allocated three automatic spots at the global showpiece, with Egypt and Morocco already securing two of those positions by reaching the final.
However, the losing team in the third-place playoff between Mali and Guinea will still have a chance to qualify. They must win a playoff match against an Asian country, with the date to be determined by competition organizers.
Guinea put up a valiant fight against defending champions Egypt but fell short of reaching the final. Egypt heads into the final with a clean sheet, having conceded zero goals in the tournament.
Mali, on the other hand, faced a penalty shootout defeat against hosts Morocco after a 2-2 draw. Morocco became the second team to secure their spot at next year’s global showpiece.
Friday’s match between Guinea and Mali promises to be closely contested, as both teams have shown their resilience throughout the competition. Guinea finished second in their group, with their only loss coming against the host nation.
Similarly, Mali pushed the defending champions to the limit in Group B, narrowly missing out on the top spot by just one point.
The crucial clash is scheduled to kick off at 17:00 GMT at the Grande Stade de Tanger in Tangier on Friday.
