Ghana opponents Mali in danger of losing talented winger for 2013 AFCON

Published on: 29 October 2012

Mali are in danger of missing out on the services of Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Bakary Sako for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

The 24-year-old who has featured for the French U-21 side appear not keen on switching nationalities to feature for The Eagles at the tournament that kicks off in South Africa on January 19.

Mali are expected to make it out of Group B which includes Ghana, Niger and Congo DR and are thus determined to put together a formidable side for the competition.

But Sako who was born in France to Malian parents says he is yet to decide on which side to commit his international career to.

"I don't know at the moment. It's a very difficult decision,” he said.

“They (Mali) want me to go with them (to the Nations Cup) and we'll see about it in time.

“At the moment I'm not sure. I've played for France at Under-21 level but I've never played for Mali before, even though both my parents are from Mali.

"I speak Malian too but I'll wait to make my choice. I don't know if there's a deadline I have to decide by, but I don't know if I'm going to play for France or Mali."

Sako’s indecision could be a source of good news to Ghanaian football fans since it has the tendency of shifting focus in the Mali team.

The Black Stars will face The Eagles in the second Group B game on January 24 in Port Elizabeth.

Ghana suffered defeat at the hands of Mali in third-place playoff game in the last edition of the AFCON.

This after Ghana had beaten Mali earlier in one of the preliminary group games in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

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