Soumaila Coulibaly, the head coach of Mali, said he has no regrets about changing up his team during Thursday’s 2-1 loss to Burkina Faso in the third-place play-off of the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Annaba.
Especially with the World Cup in mind, the tactician said he wants each of his players to experience playing at the highest level. He claims they learned from their mistakes and would leave Algeria a better squad than they entered.
“I do not regret rotating my squad. I intended to change a lot because I have a competitive squad. Other players needed to play too so I can decide which squad I will take to the World Cup,” said Coulibaly.
He claims that they will learn from their inability to end games quickly, particularly in their final two games, especially as they prepare for the World Cup. He points out that this was the key factor in both their semifinal loss to Morocco and their loss to Burkina Faso on Thursday night.
“Things might be simpler for us if we can score early. Although we consistently win games, football is all about scoring. Before our next job, we’ll strive to fix this, the tactician promised.
The team’s preparation for the World Cup will be Coulibaly’s next priority, and he has acknowledged that he may add some new players.
We will need to strengthen the team and prepare hard for the World Cup since it will be on a different level. We need to bring in a few individuals who will increase our level of competition,” the strategist said.
Mali had won the previous two times it had played in the playoffs, making this its first-ever defeat.
