By Mohammed Fajah Barrie BBC Sport, Tunis

Kanoute has scored three goals for Mali

Mali coach Henri Stambouli believes Frederic Kanoute will be the key to his side's success in the Cup of Nations.

After securing a quarter-final berth, Stambouli believes that his side can go even further with the Tottenham striker in his side.

"With Kanoute we can go a long way because of his scoring abilities," coach Stambouli told the BBC Sport website.

"I think all Malians will be grateful to him because he has helped his country by scoring vital goals.

"I know we were in a difficult group but with Kanoute in my team we made it to the quarter-finals.

It is not just Kanoute's goal-scoring prowess that impresses the French coach.

"He thinks positively and this has changed the mentality of the other players."

Kanoute has scored three goals so far in the tournament, two against Kenya and the other against Burkina Faso.

Kanoute thinks Keita also deserves praise

But the Spurs striker is also quick to praise his teammates.

"I want to thank my colleagues, particularly Seydou Keita, for setting up the goals for me," he said.

"I think the praise should go to all the Mali players and not me alone because football is all about collectivity.

"We are now looking forward to our next match against Senegal which is going to be tough.

"We've already qualified for the quarter-finals but we want to emerge as group winners so we are going to fight for it."