Mali coach Tom Saintfiet has set his sights on the semifinals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) following the Eagles’ dramatic progression to the quarter-finals.
Mali booked their spot in the last eight after edging Tunisia in a tense penalty shootout. Their next challenge comes against Senegal on Friday, January 9, at the Tangier Grand Stadium, with kick-off set for 16:00 GMT.
Speaking ahead of the clash, Saintfiet reiterated the team’s ambition.
“Before the AFCON, we spoke about reaching the semi-finals, and that remains our objective. As a coach and as a player, you always want to win a title. We know it’s not easy. Even reaching an AFCON quarter-final is not simple. In the last five editions, Mali reached the quarter-finals in 2023. Today, we are back in the quarter-finals, which is not bad. But we want more,” he said.
Reflecting on past near-misses, he added: “I have experience with The Gambia in Cameroon, where we lost very close to the semi-finals — that hurt. This time, we will do everything to reach the last four. Friday’s match is our final. We will do everything to qualify. Our slogan with the players is: “our dream, our history, and our moment.” This is our moment. There will not be another opportunity.
Saintfiet concluded with a message of determination: “Our dream of becoming champions, our history that we are writing together, and our moment — this AFCON here. We will give everything for that. Hopefully, after Friday’s match, we will stay in Morocco because we love playing this AFCON here and we want to reach the semi-final,” he added.
