African champions Mali will know their group phase opponents at FIFA U20 World Cup finals in Poland after the draw ceremony that will be held inside the Gdynia Sports Arena on Sunday.
Mamoutou Kane’s side qualified for the third time in their history after winning the U-20 African Cup of Nations this month and will be hoping to make a name for themselves in Europe when the global competition gets underway in March.
Speaking after a penalty shootout victory in the final against Senegal last week, Kane told CAF Online, “We were lucky and cannot say what worked for us and was not for the other but this is also part of football. We will savor this victory and take some strength before preparing for the World Cup.”
Already, the West Africans have been slotted into Pot 2 of the draw, alongside Nigeria, as well as New Zealand, Colombia, Korea Republic, and Italy.
Other two African countries Senegal and South Africa are in pot 3 and 4 respectively, per the rules of the draw.
The top two teams of each group and the four best third-placed teams advance to the round of 16 for the tournament will kick off 23 May- 15 June 2019.
Pot 1: Poland, Portugal, Uruguay, France, USA, Mexico
Pot 2: Mali, Nigeria, New Zealand, Colombia, Korea Republic, Italy
Pot 3: Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Argentina, Ecuador, Ukraine, Honduras
Pot 4: Japan, South Africa, Panama, Norway, Qatar, Tahiti
