Woman Of the Match: Saratou Traore dedicates award to family and Mali
They say that the first time is habitually memorable and for Malian defender Saratou Traore, her first ever appearance for Les Aigles Dames at the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) will always hold a special place in her heart and mind.
The 22-year-old midfielder, whose tactical awareness, strong passing and dribbling skills stood out on the day against Tanzania in their opening Group C fixture, admitted that this was the stuff of dreams. She has always waited for this chance to play at the continent's biggest showpiece and the result in itself was the icing on the cake.
'I extremely content. I am of course happy that we won the game. We showed immense solidarity as a team to get this result. I am so proud to represent my country Mali at my first WAFCON. For the team, we needed to get these three points so that we can have something ahead of our next game,' Traore said with a beaming face after the game.
Hunger to do more
Playing after the reigning champions South Africa defeated Ghana 2-0 meant that Mali and Tanzania came into this matchup with their backs against the wall. For the West African side, when Traore found the back of the next in extra time of the first half, that is all they needed to breathe while walking back to the dressing room to strategize on how to collect three points.
'They came back stronger and we expected that but through resilience and laser focus, we made sure we denied them from scoring. That was very important,' Traore added.
Traore, who plies her trade for Wuhan Jianghan in the Chinese topflight league, dedicated the award to her family, teammates and all Malians back home and across the world.
'This one is for them. Wearing this jersey in our national colours at this stage is an honour and I do not take it for granted. Thanks to all my teammates for all the support. We have more work to do and we shall continue to make our country proud,' Traore added with a big smile.
Mali now sit in second place in Group C, just behind South Africa on goal difference. Les Aigles Dames face Ghana in a West African derby on Friday, July 11 at 5pm (local time) at the Berkane Stadium, Morocco.
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