Paraguay vs Mali Prediction: The two teams have their fate in their own hands

Paraguay will play Mali at Parc des Princes in Paris in round 3 of the Olympic Men’s Games. This is an open encounter, as the winner of this game could make it to the quarterfinals. Which team gets things right?

Paraguay redeemed their opening game defeat against Japan with a win over Israel to boost their qualification chances. In that encounter, Paraguay took the lead in the 25th minute of the game, thanks to Marcelo Fernandez’s goal. However, Israel leveled the scores just eight games into the second half, but Julio Enciso’s strike restored that lead. Yet, Oscar Gloukh scored a penalty rebound in the 80th minute of the game, with Israel being certain that they would end with a point. Yet, two late goals from Fabian Balbuena and Marcelo Fernandez's second strike were what Paraguay needed to take maximum points. Heading into this game, Paraguay are seated 2nd in the Group D Olympic standings with 3 points, scoring four and conceding 7.

Mali were unlucky against Japan, conceding in the last minutes of their game while also losing a penalty before full time. However, with that defeat, Mali now remain winless in the Olympic games, and they have this last chance to show what they can offer. However, Mali have yet to win any of their last four Olympic games, losing to Italy in one other encounter and drawing South Korea and Israel, games that ended 3-3 and 1-1. 

The two teams have a decent shot at securing a win in this fixture. I like the character Paraguay showed against Israel after their defeat against Japan. However, Mali looked outstanding despite not securing a win in their first two games in this tournament. This game looks like a draw, but Mali are strong favorites and I expect them to win, which should end with a few goals.