Guinea will open their campaign at the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021 against Malawi at Koeukong Stadium in Bafoussam on Monday in what is expected to be a ding-dong battle.
Placed in Group B alongside Senegal and Zimbabwe, Guinea will be hoping to start off on the front foot against scorching opposition.
Match Card
Date: 10 January 2022
Time: 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT)
Venue: Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam
Group: B
Match: Guinea v Malawi
Key Players
Syli National boss Kaba Diawara will heavily depend on the experience of Liverpool star Naby Keita to lead the team to glory.
Guinea suffered a setback with defenders Antoine Conte and Florentin Pogba withdrawing from the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations finals on Sunday due to injury.
Gabadinho Mhango is expected to be man to lead Malawi’s attack in Cameroon.
He will be a key figure in Meke Mwase’s game plan for the Africa Cup of Nations.
AFCON Record
Guinea have been regular campaigners at the AFCON making 13 appearances with their best performance coming in 1976 edition when they were runners up to Morocco.
The Flames of Malawi come into the tournament in with so little experience having made only 3 appearances. In those appearances they have failed to make it past the Group stages.
Photos @fgfofficiel @FaMalawi
What they said
Kaba Diawara (Coach, Guinea)
“Qualifying for AFCON was the first step towards achieving our mission, but the real test will be in our first game against Malawi who are unpredictable at this stage. We have come up with a plan that we hope to achieve results with, and I have insisted to the players the importance of following instructions to the last minute as our opponents are equally good.
Naby Keita (Captain, Guinea)
“We have come to Cameroon with confidence to uplift the spirit of 13 million Guineans who are anticipating a good performance from us. Malawi are not an easy side but they are beatable. I will be playing my third AFCON, and my dream as captain is to lead the team to an unprecedented position.
Meck Mwase (Assistant coach, Malawi)
“We are very excited to be playing at the highest level after missing the football showpiece for twelve years. We are in a tough group, but nothing is impossible in football even though everyone refers to us as underdogs. Playing top teams gives us motivation and the players know well this is a great opportunity them to write history by winning.
Limbikqni Mzava (Captain, Malawi)
” We have always dreamt about this kind of opportunity and as we begin our campaign against Guinea, we hope that this will be the stage to all ne seen and make our names known. We are motivated, and the main ambition is to make the people of Malawi proud by producing shocking results against the top players that we have always admired.”
Source: CAF
Frederick Marfo is a sportswriter and social worker well known for his advocacy for equal chances and rights for all athletes, especially those with disabilities.
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