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Mali national football team
Men's national association football team representing Mali From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Mali national football team (Bambara: Mali jamana ntolatantɔn, French: Équipe du Mali de football) represents Mali in men's international football and is governed by the Malian Football Federation. The team's nickname is Les Aigles. They represent the country at tournaments organized by both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
While Mali is a major youth football power in both Africa and the world, they have never qualified for any senior FIFA World Cup finals in history. They have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations on 14 occasions.
Mali were suspended by FIFA on 17 March 2017 due to 'government interference' with the national football association, namely dissolving its executive committee.[3] However, the side was re-instated by FIFA on 29 April after the executive committee was re-introduced by the Malian government.[4]
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History
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Mali reached the 1972 African Nations Cup final, but lost 3–2 to Congo. They failed to qualify for the finals again until 1994 when they reached the semi-finals, an achievement repeated in 2002, 2004, 2012 and 2013.
They played their first World Cup qualifier in the year 2000. As part of the CAF's qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup, Mali lost in the preliminary round to Libya. Two years later, the country hosted the 2002 African Cup of Nations.[5]
Mali's under-23's team managed to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece. The team coached by Cheick Kone managed to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament before losing to Italy.[6]
In the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Mali beat Guinea-Bissau in the preliminaries. In the resulting second round, Mali finished fifth in its group. On 27 March 2005, riots broke out in Bamako after Mali lost a World Cup qualifier to Togo, 2–1 on a last minute goal.[7]
In the 2010 African Nations Cup, Mali made football headlines for coming back from losing 4–0 with eleven minutes left to level 4–4 with Angola.[8]
Team kit
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Rivalries
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Tunisia

The rivalry between Mali and Tunisia has been evident in recent years in terms of the number of frequent matches, especially in the Africa Cup of Nations. The two teams met for the first time on 6 January 1974, during a friendly match in Bamako, which ended with a 1–0 victory for Mali.[9] The match between the two teams in the 1994 African Cup of Nations, which was held in Tunisia, remains one of the biggest setbacks witnessed by the Tunisian national team, as Mali won the match 2–0,[10] which led to Tunisia's early exclusion from the tournament that was held on its soil. In recent years, the team's matches have continued, as they met in the last three consecutive editions of the African Cup of Nations 2019, 2021 and 2023, all of which were in the group stage,[11][12] where Mali won two matches and one ended in a draw.[13] The two teams met in the third and final round of the 2022 World Cup qualification. Two round-robin matches were played. However, Tunisia qualified for the World Cup after winning the first leg in Bamako 1–0 with an own goal from defender Moussa Sissako,[14] and a goalless draw prevailed in the return match in Radès.[15] This was Mali's closest chance of qualifying for the World Cup.[16] The competition record remains with Tunisia with a slight advantage. Tunisia won 6 matches, 3 of which ended in draws, and Mali won 5 matches.
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Results and fixtures
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The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
2024
6 January Friendly | Mali ![]() | 6–2 | ![]() | Bamako, Mali |
19:00 UTC+0 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars |
16 January 2023 AFCON GS | Mali ![]() | 2–0 | ![]() | Korhogo, Ivory Coast |
20:00 UTC+0 | Report | Stadium: Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium Attendance: 16,894 Referee: Mohamed Adel (Egypt) |
20 January 2023 AFCON GS | Tunisia ![]() | 1–1 | ![]() | Korhogo, Ivory Coast |
20:00 UTC+0 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium Attendance: 18,130 Referee: Daniel Nii Laryea (Ghana) |
24 January 2023 AFCON GS | Namibia ![]() | 0–0 | ![]() | San-Pédro, Ivory Coast |
17:00 UTC+0 | Report | Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium Attendance: 15,231 Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda) |
30 January 2023 AFCON R16 | Mali ![]() | 2–1 | ![]() | Korhogo, Ivory Coast |
17:00 |
|
Report | Stadium: Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium Attendance: 19,184[17] Referee: Ibrahim Mutaz (Libya) |
3 February 2023 AFCON QF | Mali ![]() | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | ![]() | Bouaké, Ivory Coast |
17:00 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stade de la Paix Attendance: 39,836 Referee: Mohamed Adel (Egypt) |
22 March Friendly | Mauritania ![]() | 0–2 | ![]() | Marrakesh, Morocco |
19:00 UTC+0 | Report | Stadium: Stade de Marrakech |
26 March Friendly | Nigeria ![]() | 0–2 | ![]() | Marrakesh, Morocco |
19:00 UTC+0 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco) |
6 June 2026 World Cup Qualification | Mali ![]() | 1–2 | ![]() | Bamako, Mali |
19:00 UTC+0 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Attendance: 50,200 Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt) |
11 June 2026 World Cup Qualification | Madagascar ![]() | 0–0 | ![]() | Johannesburg, South Africa |
15:00 UTC+2 | Report | Stadium: FNB Stadium Referee: Patrice Tanguy Mebiame (Gabon) |
6 September 2024 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | Mali ![]() | 1–1 | ![]() | Bamako, Mali |
19:00 UTC+0 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Attendance: 49,000 Referee: Alhadi Allaou Mahamat (Chad) |
10 September 2024 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | Eswatini ![]() | 0–1 | ![]() | Mbombela, South Africa |
15:00 UTC+2 | Report |
|
Stadium: Mbombela Stadium Attendance: 406 Referee: Jean-Claude Ishimwe (Rwanda) |
11 October 2024 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | Mali ![]() | 1–0 | ![]() | Bamako, Mali |
19:00 UTC+0 | Touré ![]() |
Report | Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda) |
15 October 2024 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | Guinea-Bissau ![]() | 0–0 | ![]() | Bissau, Guinea-Bissau |
16:00 UTC+0 | Report | Stadium: Estádio 24 de Setembro Referee: Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso) |
15 November 2024 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | Mozambique ![]() | 0–1 | ![]() | Maputo, Mozambique |
17:00 UTC+2 | Report |
|
Stadium: Estádio do Zimpeto Referee: Dickens Mimisa (Kenya) |
2025
20 March 2026 World Cup Qualification | Comoros ![]() | 0–3 | ![]() | Berkane, Morocco |
22:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Berkane Municipal Stadium Referee: Mahmood Ali Mahmood Ismail (Sudan) |
24 March 2026 World Cup Qualification | Central African Republic ![]() | 0–0 | ![]() | Casablanca, Morocco |
17:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium Referee: Godfrey Nkhakananga (Malawi |
September 2026 World Cup Qualification | Mali ![]() | – | ![]() | |
--:-- UTC+2 |
September 2026 World Cup Qualification | Ghana ![]() | – | ![]() | |
--:-- UTC+2 |
October 2026 World Cup Qualification | Chad ![]() | – | ![]() | |
--:-- UTC+2 |
October 2026 World Cup Qualification | Mali ![]() | – | ![]() | |
--:-- UTC+2 |
22 December 2025 AFCON Group A | Mali ![]() | – | ![]() | Casablanca, Morocco |
15:30 UTC+1 | Stadium: Mohammed V Stadium |
26 December 2025 AFCON Group A | Morocco ![]() | – | ![]() | Rabat, Morocco |
13:00 UTC+1 | Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium |
29 December 2025 AFCON Group A | Comoros ![]() | – | ![]() | Casablanca, Morocco |
18:30 UTC+1 | Stadium: Mohammed V Stadium |
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Coaching staff
Coaching history
- Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
Ben Oumar Sy (1960–66)
György Tóth (1966–70)
Karl-Heinz Weigang (1970–73)
Mykola Holovko (1979–82)
Kidian Diallo (1982–89)
Molobaly Sissoko (1989–93)
Mamadou Keïta (1993–97)
Christian Sarramagna (1998–2000)
Romano Mattè (2000–01)
Henryk Kasperczak (2001–02)
Christian Dalger (2002–03)
Henri Stambouli (2003–04)
Alain Moizan (2004)
Mamadou Keïta (2004–05)
Pierre Lechantre (2005–06)
Amadou Pathé Diallo (2006)
Jean-François Jodar (2006–08)
Stephen Keshi (2008–10)
Alain Giresse (2010–12)
Amadou Pathé Diallo (2012)
Patrice Carteron (2012–13)
Amadou Pathé Diallo (2013)
Henryk Kasperczak (2013–15)
Alain Giresse (2015–17)
Mohamed Magassouba (2017–2022)
Éric Chelle (2022–2024)
Tom Saintfiet (2024–present)
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Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the Friendly match against DR Congo on 5 June 2025.[18]
Caps and goals updated after the match against DR Congo on 5 June 2025.
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up for Mali in the last 12 months.
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Records
- As of 24 March 2025[19]
- Players in bold are still active with Mali.

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Competition records
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FIFA World Cup
Africa Cup of Nations
Mali have never won the Africa Cup of Nations; their best result at the tournament was runners-up in 1972. Mali have qualified for the tournament fourteen times in total, finishing as runners-up once, third twice, and fourth three times. Prior to 2008, each time Mali qualified, they reached the knockout stage having only qualified four times before then.
African Nations Championship
Mali has competed in five African Nations Championship tournaments, finishing as runners-up twice.
African Games
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Head-to-head record
As of 5 June 2025 [as of?]
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Honours
Continental
Regional
- Amilcar Cabral Cup
Champions (3): 1989, 1997, 2007
Runners-up (4): 1979, 1981, 1987, 1988
Third place (5): 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2001
- UEMOA Tournament
Runners-up (3): 2008, 2011, 2016
Friendly
- Qatar International Friendship Tournament
Third place (1): 2009–10
- Competition organized by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, officially not recognized by FIFA.
Summary
Notes
References
External links
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