Mali national football team

History

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.

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.

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.

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.

In the AFCON of 2025 Mali defeated Tunisia on penalties, reaching the quarter finals against Senegal, without losing a single match in the whole tournament.

Team kit

Rivalries

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. 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, 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, where Mali won two matches and one ended in a draw. 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, and a goalless draw prevailed in the return match in Radès. This was Mali's closest chance of qualifying for the World Cup. 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.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Mali national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2025

• Nene
• Doumbia
• Nene
• K. Doumbia
• Coulibaly
• K. Doumbia
• Sinayoko
• Nene
• G. Diarra
• N'Zi

2026

• Sinayoko
• Sinayoko
• Dorgeles
• Diakité
• Touré
• Abdi
• Saad
• Achouri
• Ben Romdhane

Coaching staff

Coaching history

:Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

• MLI Ben Oumar Sy (1960–66)
• HUN György Tóth (1966–70)
• FRG Karl-Heinz Weigang (1970–73)
• USSR Mykola Holovko (1979–82)
• MLI Kidian Diallo (1982–89)
• MLI Molobaly Sissoko (1989–93)
• MLI Mamadou Keïta (1993–97)
• FRA Christian Sarramagna (1998–2000)
• ITA Romano Mattè (2000–01)
• POL Henryk Kasperczak (2001–02)
• FRA Christian Dalger (2002–03)
• FRA Henri Stambouli (2003–04)
• FRA Alain Moizan (2004)
• MLI Mamadou Keïta (2004–05)
• FRA Pierre Lechantre (2005–06)
• MLI Amadou Pathé Diallo (2006)
• FRA Jean-François Jodar (2006–08)
• NGA Stephen Keshi (2008–10)
• FRA Alain Giresse (2010–12)
• MLI Amadou Pathé Diallo (2012)
• FRA Patrice Carteron (2012–13)
• MLI Amadou Pathé Diallo (2013)
• POL Henryk Kasperczak (2013–15)
• FRA Alain Giresse (2015–17)
• MLI Mohamed Magassouba (2017–2022)
• MLI Éric Chelle (2022–2024)
• BEL Tom Saintfiet (2024–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026.

Caps and goals correct as of 9 January 2026, after the match against Senegal.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Mali in the last 12 months. DCL Player refused to join the team after the call-up.

INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.

PRE Preliminary squad.

RET Player has retired from international football.

SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records

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Africa Cup of Nations

Main article: Mali at the 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

Head-to-head record

As of 8 January 2026

Honours

Continental

• Africa Cup of Nations
  • [[File:Silver medal africa.svg|15px]] Runners-up (1): 1972
  • [[File:Bronze medal africa.svg|15px]] Third place (2): 2012, 2013
• African Nations Championship
  • [[File:Silver medal africa.svg|15px]] Runners-up (2): 2016, 2020
• African Games****1
  • [[File:Silver medal africa.svg|15px]] Silver medal (1): 1965

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

Summary

;Notes

1. Competition organized by ANOCA, officially not recognized by FIFA.

Notes

References

References

1. (12 March 2015). "Seydou Keïta – Century of International Appearances". Rec. Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation.
2. (17 March 2017). "FIFA Suspends Malian Football Association (FEMAFOOT)". FIFA.
3. "Caf [''sic''] confirm Mali's suspension has been lifted by Fifa [''sic'']". BBC Sport.
4. "Mali 2002 - The African Cup Of Nations XXIII - The Qualification". The Shot.
5. (21 August 2004). "Italy down brave Mali in extra time (1:0)". Fédération Internationale de Football Association.
6. (28 March 2005). "Mali soccer fans burn cars, riot after World Cup qualifier". The Associated Press.
7. (10 January 2010). "Angola 4–4 Mali". BBC Sport.
8. (3 January 2026). "NThe 10 men of Mali stunned Tunisia in the Casablanca rain with a dramatic victory via penalty kicks". [[The Guardian]].
9. "Match Report of Mali vs Tunisia - 1974-01-06 - FIFA Friendlies - Global Sports Archive".
10. "Match Report of Tunisia vs Mali - 1994-03-26 - Africa Cup of Nations - Global Sports Archive".
11. "Match Report of Tunisia vs Mali - 2019-06-28 - Total Africa Cup of Nations - Global Sports Archive".
12. "Match Report of Tunisia vs Mali - 2022-01-12 - TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations - Global Sports Archive".
13. "Match Report of Tunisia vs Mali - 2024-01-20 - TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations - Global Sports Archive".
14. "Match Report of Mali vs Tunisia - 2022-03-25 - WC Qualification - Global Sports Archive".
15. "Match Report of Tunisia vs Mali - 2022-03-29 - WC Qualification - Global Sports Archive".
16. AP. (2021-11-12). "World Cup Qualifiers: Mali through to last 10 in WC qualifying, setback for Ghana".
17. (11 December 2025). "Voici la liste des Aigles retenus par le sélectionneur Tom Saintfiet pour la CAN Maroc 2025". Fédération Malienne de Football.
18. "Mali - Record International Players".