Mali coach Tom Saintfiet cut a proud but emotional figure after his side’s narrow 1-0 defeat to Senegal in the AFCON 2025 quarter-final in Tangier.
Playing more than half the match with 10 men, Mali pushed the defending champions all the way before bowing out.
Saintfiet admitted the red card shown to captain Yves Bissouma in first-half stoppage time changed the balance of the game, but he refused to use it as an excuse.
“It was an interesting and difficult match for us because we had to play large parts of the game with ten men. But that doesn’t take away the fact that my players played gallantly and played very well,” he said, stressing his pride in their fight throughout the tournament.
He praised his squad’s attitude and the image they projected on the continental stage, saying they had “shown the world” what Mali are capable of. Saintfiet added that he and his staff will now carefully analyse Mali’s AFCON campaign to identify areas to improve, determined to come back stronger in future competitions.
