Mali goalkeeper Mamdou Samassa compared their Wednesday's opposition to five-time World Cup champions Brazil after they succumbed to a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the semi-final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Durban.
.
The 22-year-old, who plays for Guingamp in France, said they don't deserve any blame for such a huge loss because they met a fire-spitting side that could have dismantled any team at the competition.
.
'' I feel the team we played against was Brazil and not the Nigeria we used to know. From my post I was seeing more than 15 green shirts pouring forth against us and not the usual 10 players. They were strong, slippery, focused and pacy '', Samassa said.
.
Mali will face Ghana in the 3rd place match on Saturday February 9 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. Both sides met in a similar situation last year at the African Cup of Nations held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, with the Eagles triumphing to claim bronze.