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href="javascript:Email.viewFrmEmail('612966','frmEmail', 'frmEmailConfirmation');Email.hideConfirm();"><img src="/web/20071011100106im_/http://fifa.com/imgml/icons/emailto.gif" height="12" width="12" alt=""/> Email to a friend</a></div><div id="frmEmail" style="padding-top:10px"> </div><div id="frmEmailConfirmation" style="padding-top:10px;display:none"><div class="emailConfMsg"><div class="cEIC">Thank you. Your FIFA.com story has been successfully e-mailed to your friend(s).</div></div></div></div><div class="articleBody"> <p style="clear:both">Two of Africa's form strikers will go head-to-head in a crucial test on Friday as the final places for the 16-team field at next year's CAF Africa Cup of Nations finals are decided. Emmanuel Adebayor of Togo pits his wits against Mali's Frederic Kanoute in a Group 9 qualifier in Lome, where the winner will secure a place in Ghana in January and the loser will be left to watch the continental showpiece from the sidelines. </p><p style="clear:both">Arsenal's Adebayor returns after a brief exile, caused by continued pay disputes with the Togolese FA, to lead the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ finalists at home against a Mali side bristling with talent. Besides Sevilla's poacher-supreme Kanoute, <em>Les Aigles</em> will include captain Mahamadou Diarra from Real Madrid and his midfielder partner, Mohamed 'Momo' Sissoko of Liverpool.</p><p style="clear:both">Adebayor missed the last two of Togo's qualifiers, including an embarrassing defeat in Benin in June, while Kanoute is looking to improve his scoring form for his country after managing just one international goal - and that from the penalty spot - over the past 12 months.</p><p style="clear:both">The battle for top place in Group 9 is complicated by the fact that Benin sit just one point behind the joint leaders and can still wrestle away top place if the game in Lome ends in a draw. In that case, Benin will top the standings provided they win in Freetown, where they take on the winless Sierra Leone.</p><p style="clear:both">Irrespective of the result in Lome, Benin can be assured of a Cup of Nations finals spot as one of the best placed runners-up if they win by two clear goals against their hosts, who have had a dismal campaign in the qualifiers for the 2008 finals.</p><p style="clear:both"><strong>Big boys cross swords</strong><br/>However, the spotlight will be remain on this duel between the European-based strikers, whose respective national team coaches will be hoping to see their stars' club form replicated on Friday in the international arena.</p><p style="clear:both">Adebayor's goals have helped steer Arsenal to the top of the English Premier League standings while Kanoute was among the leading marksmen in Europe last season, helping Sevilla to lift the UEFA Cup and the Spanish Copa del Rey.</p><p style="clear:both">"With players like Djilla (Mahamadou Diarra), Kanoute and Seydou (Keita), they have a lot of choice. They are players who deserve respect, having achieved in some of the major championships in world football," warned Togo coach Stephen Keshi on the eve of the game. "We will have to be vigilant."</p><p style="clear:both">Mali's French coach, Jean-Francois Jodar, says Adebayor is a player who demands respect, but also warned his defenders not to fear the ability of the lanky striker.</p><p style="clear:both">Togo must win the game to stand any chance of progressing while a draw might be enough for Mali, provided Benin do not win in Freetown. Togo and Mali both have nine points but Mali won their previous meeting in the group 1-0 and have the advantage if the group is decided on a head-to-head basis.</p><p style="clear:both">"We are doing everything possible to ensure our players have the best possible conditions to prepare for the match," added Jodar. "I am sure we will win."</p><p style="clear:both"><strong>Benin's globetrotters</strong><br/>Benin travel with a squad of players from an array of clubs across the world, including Jonas Oketola from Kwara United of Nigeria, Abdul Khaled Adenon of ASEC Abidjan, Algerian-based Wassiou Oladipupo, Omar Tchomogo who plays in Israel, Seidath Tchomogo in Bahrain, Damien Chrysostome from the lower reaches of the Italian league and Romuald Bocco, who plays for Accrington Stanley in England.</p><p style="clear:both">Sierra Leone, already eliminated from the race for a place in Ghana, will use the match to prepare for a more important assignment at the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers in Africa. Next Wednesday the Leone Stars host Guinea Bissau in the first leg of their preliminary round tie.</p><p style="clear:both">Cup of Nations holders Egypt have had to wait until the last round of their qualifying campaign in Group 2 to make sure of a shot at retaining their continental crown. They need just avoid defeat against minnows Botswana in their last match in Cairo on Saturday to make sure of their progress.</p><p style="clear:both">Such is the confidence in their bid to qualify for a 13th successive Cup of Nations finals that coach Hassan Shehata named six newcomers to his squad for the match, for which he has to do without suspended captain Ahmed Hassan and injured striker Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam. <br/><br/>Also on the weekend menu is a meeting in Nouakchott between hosts Mauritania and Burundi, both eliminated from the running for a place at the finals from 20 January to 10 February.</p></div> <div class="print commands"><div class="printFrm"><a href="javascript:window.print()"><img src="/web/20071011100106im_/http://fifa.com/imgml/icons/print.gif" height="12" width="12" alt=""/> Print</a></div><div class="emailFrm"><a href="javascript:Email.viewFrmEmail('612966','frmEmailBottom', 'frmEmailBottomConfirmation');"><img src="/web/20071011100106im_/http://fifa.com/imgml/icons/emailto.gif" height="12" width="12" alt=""/> Email to a friend</a></div><div class="commFrm"><a href="javascript:Comment.addComments('612966')"><img src="/web/20071011100106im_/http://fifa.com/imgml/icons/comments_add.gif" height="12" width="12" alt=""/> Add your comment</a></div><div id="frmEmailBottom" style="padding-top:10px"> </div><div id="frmEmailBottomConfirmation" style="padding-top:10px;display:none;"><div class="emailConfMsg"><div class="cEIC">Thank you. 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