Bafana Bafana will open their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign against a Mali side who have twice before delivered a knockout blow to them at the continental finals.
Though none of the current squad were involved in those games, this is the chance for vengeance on the biggest African stage.
MALI 2-0 SOUTH AFRICA
2002 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final
Carlos Queiroz’s Bafana came up against hosts Mali in the quarter-finals in 2002 and were well beaten in the end. The side was captained by Eric Tinkler and pretty much full-strength without only Lucas Radebe as the country also built towards the World Cup later that year. Bassala Toure thundered a shot past Hand Vonk in the Bafana goal on the hour-mark, before Delron Buckley had a shot cleared off the line. Dramane Coulibaly sealed the home win late on with a tap-in after being teed-up by Toure, who was ironically injured in the mass celebratory pitch invasion by fans that followed!
SOUTH AFRICA 1-1 MALI
2013 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final
Mali won 3-1 on penalties
The sides clashed again in the quarterfinals 11 years later, this time on South African soil and again it was the west Africans who came out on top. Tokelo Rantie put Bafana into a deserved lead just past the half-hour mark, but when he went off injured shortly afterwards, Mali came back into the game and the talismanic Seydou Keita equalised on 58 minutes. With French coach Patrice Carteron in charge, they easily kept Bafana at bay until penalties, and then triumphed when Dean Furman, May Mahlangu and Lehlohonolo Majoro missed three in a row in the shoot-out.
SOUTH AFRICA 1-1 MALI
2014 African Nations Championship Group A
You can debate whether this game should be a full international given that only home-based squads are allowed in the African Nations Championship, but FIFA records then as such. South Africa hosted the championship and the sides met in this pool stage clash which would contribute to an embarrassing early exit for coach Gordon Igesund’s men. He had selected the best of the PSL talent and they took the lead through a Bernard Parker penalty. But Ibourahima Sidibe scored an equaliser on 54 minutes and neither side could find a winner from there. Had Bafana been able to do so they would have progressed.
SOUTH AFRICA 3-0 MALI
Friendly international
This was a handsome final warm-up win for Bafana Bafana in the Gabonese capital of Libreville ahead of the 2015 Cup of Nations finals, though those finals would ultimately end in disappointment too with a first round exit under Shakes Mashaba. Thulani Hlatshwayo, Sibusiso Vilakazi and Dean Furman all scored as South Africa beat a very handy Mali outfit. Polish coach Henryk Kasperczak, who led this Mali side, was also in charge in his first spell when they beat Bafana in 2002.
SOUTH AFRICA 2-1 MALI
Friendly international
The teams met in another friendly in Gqeberha in October 2019 and Bafana came out on top again, a rare bot of success for coach Molefi Ntseki in his spell in charge. Furman put Bafana ahead from the penalty-spot before first half substitute Themba Zwane added a second before the break. That was the way it stayed until RB Salzburg attacker Sekou Koita pulled one back on 74 minutes, but Bafana were able to see out the win.
