Mali U23 vs Guinea U23 Prediction: Both nations shifts attention to winning the bronze medal

The match for third place between Mali U23 and Guinea U23 will take place at the Grand Stade de Tanger in this Total Energies U23 Africa Cup of Nations tournament. After failing to secure a berth in the final match, both Mali U23 and Guinea U23 will now be focusing their efforts on winning the third-place match. Which team gets the upper hand and ends up taking home the bronze medal?

As they prepare to take on Guinea in a play-off match at the TotalEnergies CAF U23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023, Mali's U23 team will have another opportunity to compete for a spot in the Olympic Games, provided they win this match. Mali's coach, Badara Alou Diallo, complimented his players for their display of character after the team's 4-3 loss in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw with hosts Morocco in the semi-final on Tuesday night in Rabat. Both Zakaria El Ouahdi and Mamady Diambou scored for their respective nations throughout the regular time. Issoufi Maigi scored for Mali U23 in the 116th minute to pull Mali U23 level with Morocco U23 after Amani El Ouazzani scored for Morocco U23 in the 108th minute of extra time to put Morocco U23 back in the lead. In spite of this, Mali U23 failed to convert their first and fifth penalty kicks during the shootout, with Boubacar Traore and Ahmed Diamande, respectively, missing their opportunities to score. This contest will now be a top priority for them, and as a result, they have no other choice but to perform at their absolute best and come out on top.

Guinea were unlucky not to advance to the finals but put up a strong battle against the Egyptians, who are the defending champions, and head into the final with zero goals conceded. Egypt will go into the final with a perfect record of not allowing any goals to be scored against them. Guinea came in second place in their group, suffering their lone defeat at the hands of the tournament's hosts, Morocco. However, in the semifinals, they were unable to advance after being defeated by Egypt U23. This team, on the other hand, will now focus their attention on winning this match in order to increase their chances of returning home with a bronze medal and qualifying for the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024.

Both teams are anticipated to play with caution, be in top physical form, and demonstrate character during this contest, which guarantees that it will be an exciting and close one. However, given that this should be a case of survival of the fittest and that a significant amount of defensive play is anticipated to be a priority here, a wager on "under" is a sure thing to come out on top. In addition, when comparing how well these nations perform against challenging opponents, Mali U23 appears to be in a better position than Guinea U23. As a result, I believe that they will prevail in this match.