Reviewing Mali's history in the African Cup of Nations, it is fair to say that time has come for the Eagles to improve their rank in the Dark Continent. In six previous participations, Mali reached the semi-finals five times, including a second-place finish in their debut in 1972. Above that, the current generation of Malian footballers boasts a number of talents that can be categorized among the world's best. It is a rare advantage for an African team to have players within the ranks of European powerhouses like Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid. With the likes of Frederic Kanoute, Seydou Keita, Mahamadou Diarra and Mohamed Sissoko combined in one team, even their customary semi-final berth would be an underachievement for Mali. "We have top players in our country but it is not easy to gel as a team to produce in a big game. We need to work hard on that and see what we can achieve," said Mali star man Kanoute. "In the African Nations Cup, we need to do better than the last time (first round), hopefully with all our players getting to the championship fit and raring to go. "The Mali nation deserves better so let's make them happy." Starting Against the Hosts The Eagles will kick off their CAN campaign against hosts Angola in Luanda, a confrontation any team would like to avoid. However, the last time they clashed with an African Cup of Nations host, the Malians pulled off a sensational 2-0 victory over Tunisia in 1994. Fernand Coulibaly and Modibo Sidibe were the heroes at Manzah Stadium 16 years ago, in one of the earth-shattering upsets in the competition's history. In addition to that, Mali's last meeting with Angola resulted in a 4-0 drubbing victory in favor of Stephen Keshi's men, in a friendly game one year ago. But Keshi, the man who led Togo to a shock World Cup berth in 2006, is aware that facing the Palancas Negras on January 10th will be a much difficult test. "It is true that we have already beaten Angola in a friendly match with a score of 4 goals to 0," the former Nigeria captain said. "What you should know is that a friendly match is totally different from an official match." Star Player: Frederic Kanoute It was a memorable moment for Malian football when the French-born striker opted to represent the Western-African nation rather than the European giants in 2003. In the space of five years, Kanoute became Mali's all-time leading goalscorer and the nation's primary hope of success on the global and continental stages. His first major-competition appearance saw him finish joint-top scorer in the 2004 African Cup of Nations after hitting four goals in as many games in Tunisia. At club level, Kanoute had decent stints with Lyon, West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur, but his ongoing tenure at Sevilla is one to remember. In his first two seasons at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Kanoute helped Sevilla clinch back-to-back UEFA Cup titles, the Copa del Rey and the European and Spanish Super cups. Just like he did with Mali, the 32-year-old wrote his name in Sevilla's history books thanks to his outstanding goalscoring record. He broke into Sevilla's top-ten all-time scoring charts in just three years with the Andalucian outfit. Off the pitch, Kanoute, a devout Muslim, is renowned for being active in supporting humanitarian causes and charity issues.
