But Keshi refuses to accept that the best his side can aim for now is a place at the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola instead.

Finishing third in the group, which also includes Benin and Sudan, would put Mali into the frame for Angola. That seems their best hope after following an opening match draw by Sudan with a home loss to Ghana's Black Stars.

Buoyed by his team's victory over Benin in June and a recent morale-boosting friendly win over Burkina Faso, Keshi defiantly told BBC Sport that "it's not over yet."

"The way Sudan played against us, they can go and give Ghana a tough game when they play them in a couple of weeks.

"Credit to Benin and Burkina Faso, they made it difficult for us. But we played very well, much better than we did against Sudan and Ghana, and I was proud of the players.

"Their attitude was great, it automatically buried the problems that have plagued our matches for some time and I still think the group could go down to our last game."

The former Nigerian captain added: "We've got to win every game and realistically, we're probably going for second place.

"But after a turnaround in the mood and return of key players from injury, we can go to Benin and Ghana to fix our own destiny.