Spurs international watch: Midfielders side fail to get over the line in qualifying
By Tom Vinall
On Tuesday afternoon, Pape Matar Sarr was not the only Tottenham Hotspur midfielder in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, as Yves Bissouma and his Mali counterparts taking to the field against Guinea-Bissau in what was also their second game of a double header this international break.
Like Senegal, Mali would secure qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations with a win. For the task at hand, manager Tom Saintflet played Bissouma as one of the two number tens in a 343 sort of set up.
It was a tough game, with their hosts managing to get a foothold of possession, although Mali were able to create the best chances. The most presentable opportunities for Bissouma came early in the second half, but he was denied by opposition goalkeeper Manuel Balde twice in quick succession, who was having a strong game for himself.
In the end, despite Mali having four big chances in the game, they were unable to break the Guinea-Bissau door down, and would have to settle for a point in a 0-0 draw, knowing that a win would have secured their qualification to the Africa Cup of Nations, where Bissouma would have joined Spurs team mate Pape Matar Sarr, whose Senegal side secured qualification.
Still, in any case, things are generally looking okay for Mali in terms of their qualification. They are second in the group, remaining four points ahead of Guinea-Bissau with just two games left to play – and are only below group leaders Mozambique on goal difference.
On that note, Mali will play Mozambique and lowly Eswatini in November, the final international break of the year. They only need three points to secure their qualification. The showdown with Mozambique could determine who finishes top of the group, although a hammering of Eswatini, who only have one point so far, could sway the goal difference in their favour in their goal difference, even with a draw against Mozambique. Let’s see.
Bissouma’s international break is now over, and he will return to Hotspur Way ahead of the weekends game.