Semi finals

Thursday

Mali v Ivory Coast (Kigali Regional Stadium, 16:00)

Mali head coach Djibril Drame has said he’s not worried facing strong favourites Ivory Coast in the semi-finals of the ongoing Africa Nations Championships (CHAN).

The two West African sides square-up to each other on Thursday afternoon at Kigali Regional Stadium in Nyamirambo, Kigali.

After seeing his side beat Tunisia 2-1 in the quarter-finals, Drame now says he believes his side has all it takes to overcome Ivory Coast – who eliminated Cameroon after a 3-0 victory on Saturday – in the second semi-final of the 2016 CHAN on Thursday.

"On paper Ivory Coast are the better side but we don’t fear them,” he said. "In the quarter-finals we defeated one of the best teams in Africa (Tunisia), so we are ready for the next hurdle,” Drame said.

"It has been a tough tournament but we kept our faith and worked hard so that we can reach as far as possible,” he added. "I have told my players that we face Ivory Coast who have also been superb in the tournament. We hope we will put up a good performance.”

Ivory Coast lost their opening match against hosts Rwanda 1-0 but have since emerged as one of the strong favourites to win the biennial tournament.

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