Samassa: Nigeria like Brazil

Johannesburg - Goalkeeper Mamadou Samassa compared Nigeria to Brazil after Mali were hammered 4-1 in the semi-final of the 2013 AFCON on Wednesday.

According to the Football411.com website, the Super Eagles' power, speed and silky touches were just too much for the Eagles, who looked overwhelmed by the two-time AFCON champions.

Samassa admitted they were outplayed and compared Nigeria's style of play to that of five-time World Cup champions, the mighty Brazil.

"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 told SuperSport.

"We did our best. We heeded our coach's instructions but they fell below what was needed to stop the Super Eagles.

"They were winning all the balls, pursuing us mercilessly each time we had the ball and their finishing was always on target and that was their major advantage.

"They have forwards that can transform the slimmest goal chances," he concluded.

Mali and Ghana, who lost to Burkina Faso in the other semi-final, will for the second consecutive occasion face each other in the third-place play-off on Saturday in Port Elizabeth.

In 2012, Mali beat Ghana 1-0 to clinch the bronze medal, while Zambia went on to win the 2012 AFCON at the expense of the Ivory Coast.