AFCON 2025: All you need to know about Mali

The country

Capital: Bamako

Area: 1,240,192 km2

Population: 24.48 million inhabitants

Official languages: Bambara, Bomu, Bozo, Dogon (dogo-so, dogo-kan), Peul (Fulfulde or Pulaar), Soninké (Soninkaxanne), Songhai, Senufo-Mamara (Minianka), Syenara (Senufo), Tuareg (Tamalayt), Hassanya, Khassonke and Malinké (Maninkakan)

French is the working language

Motto: One people, One goal, One faith

Inhabitants: Malians / Malian

Nickname of the team: les Aigles du Mali

Mali and the AFCON
Title(s): 0

Final (s): 1

Participations before AFCON 2025: 13

Première participation en 1972. Ils ont ensuite disputé les éditions 1994, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023

Course at the AFCON
1972: final

1994: semi-final (4th)

2002: semi-final (4th)

2004: semi-final (4th)

2008: 1st round

2010: 1st round

2012: semi-final (3rd)

2013: semi-final (3rd)

2015: 1st round

2017: 1st round

2019: 1/8th finals

2021: 1/8th finals

2023: quarter final

Assessment at the AFCON
59 matches played

21 victories

22 nuls

16 defeats

71 goals scored

69 goals conceded

A group that is looking to impress

Very often placed as an underdog in the AFCON, Mali often disappoints. This was also the case during the last edition where, with a flamboyant game, the Eagles fell to Côte d'Ivoire in quarters. And to make matters worse, Mali cannot rely on explicit frameworks like in the era of Frédéric Kanouté, Mouhamadou Diarra, or even Seydou Keïta. The real international star of the team, Yves Bissouma, is in great difficulty at Tottenham where he has not played any match this season. Relegated to the bench at the beginning of the season, he then picked an ankle injury. His participation in AFCON 2025 remains pending.

Placed in Group A with Morocco, Zambia and the Comoros, Mali can still count on Captain Hamari Traoré, back in the national team, or even Lassina Sinayoko.

Tom Saintfiet to orchestrate every and anything

 
As conductor, Mali will have Tom Sainfiet. The Belgian, who had done wonders with Gambia at AFCON 2021 (1/8th final for his first participation), must breathe new life into this team, radiant in the youth categories.

However, the rigor of Saintfiet could be beneficial to the group.

 «I am a coach who loves discipline, mobilization, and who always wants to tactically find the opportunity to win his matches. I want to always win every match. Obviously that’s not possible. But it’s always the intention. And you know, whatever the philosophy of play, it takes a lot of discipline, playing with the qualities of the team, the qualities of the players to create opportunities and score goals»