Friendly: Despite defeat to DR Congo, Tom Saintfiet remains positive

Beaten 1-0 by the Democratic Republic of Congo in a friendly on Thursday, June 5 in Orléans, Mali’s Eagles showed an encouraging display despite the absence of several key players.

It was Samuel Essende who scored the only goal of the match, handing victory to the Leopards in this FIFA international window. After the game, Mali head coach Tom Saintfiet chose to focus on the positives:

There are plenty of reasons to be positive. We’re missing six or seven players from our main squad. I think we played well. We had chances early in the match, but then DR Congo took control.

Confident about the future, the Belgian coach also praised the performance of his young players:

In the second half, we dominated. It’s a shame we didn’t equalize. We just missed the final pass or the right move. But with so many young and new players, I’m satisfied.

An encouraging performance ahead of crucial fixtures in September:

I’m not happy with the defeat, but I am happy with the performance. It gives us confidence for the two important matches coming up.

Mali can therefore take valuable lessons from this test against a quality African opponent. Next up in this FIFA window: Ghana.

Aliou Toundé |

Editorfr