Mali national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Mali women's national football team.

Mali

Nickname(s)	Les Aigles (The Eagles)
Association	Malian Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Éric Chelle
Captain	Hamari Traoré
Most caps	Seydou Keita (102)
Top scorer	Seydou Keita (25)
Home stadium	Stade du 26 Mars
FIFA code	MLI
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	53 3 (18 July 2024)
Highest	23 (June 2013)
Lowest	117 (October 2001)
First international
Mali 4–3 Zentralafrikanische Republik (Madagaskar; 13 April 1960)
Biggest win
Mali 11–0 Mauretanien (Senegal; 1 October 1972)
Biggest defeat
Algerien 7–0 Mali (Algerien; 13 November 1988) Kuwait 8–1 Mali (Kuwait City, Kuwait; 5 September 1997)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	13 (first in 1972)
Best result	Runners-up (1972)
African Nations Championship
Appearances	3 (first in 2011)
Best result	Runners-up (2016, 2020)

The Mali national football team (French: Équipe de football du Mali) represents Mali in men's international football and is governed by the Malian Football Federation. The team's nickname is Les Aigles. They represent 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 13 occasions.

Mali were suspended by FIFA on 17 March 2017 due to 'government interference' with the national football association, namely dissolving its executive committee. However, the side was re-instated by FIFA on 29 April after the executive committee was re-introduced by the Malian government.

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. It is considered to be one of the best comebacks in recent memory, alongside Sweden's famous comeback against Germany in a 2014 World Cup qualifier with a same scoreline.

Team kit

Manufacturer	Period
Kappa	1998–2003
Baliston	2003–2007
Airness	2007–

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.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

Mali A' v Uganda A'

8 January Friendly	Mali A'	0–0	Uganda A'	Tunesien
15:00 UTC+1		Bericht

Mali A' v DR Congo A'

Mali A' v Angola A'

16 January 2022 CHAN	Mali A'	3–3	Angola A'	Oran, Algeria
16:00 CET (UTC+1)	Sinayoko 23' Coulibaly  30' Koné  54' Diaby 78' Ousmane 83'	Bericht	Dilson 12', 26',  38' Gilberto 72' Victoriano  88'	Stadium: Miloud Hadefi Stadium Referee: Karim Sabry

Mauritania A' v Mali A'

24 January 2022 CHAN	Mauritania A'	1–0	Mali A'	Oran, Algeria
16:00 CET (UTC+1)	Beibou  22' Mamadou Sy 53'	Bericht	Koné  29'	Stadium: Miloud Hadefi Stadium Referee: Mohamed Hussein

Mali v Gambia

24 March 2023 AFCON qualification	Mali	2–0	Gambia	Bamako, Mali
19:00 UTC±0	K. Doumbia 3' A. Traoré 90+5'	Bericht		Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Referee: Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso)

Gambia v Mali

28 March 2023 AFCON qualification	Gambia	1–0	Mali	Casablanca, Morocco
16:00 UTC±0	O. Colley 79'	Bericht		Stadium: Stade Mohamed V Referee: Kouassi Attisso Attiogbe (Togo)

Congo v Mali

18 June 2023 AFCON qualification	Congo	0–2	Mali	Brazzaville, Congo
17:00 UTC+1		Bericht	Koné 62' Dorgeles 73'	Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)

Mali v South Sudan

8 September 2023 AFCON qualification	Mali	4–0	South Sudan	Bamako, Mali
19:00 UTC±0	Koné 10' K. Doumbia 29', 57' Samassekou  71' Dorgeles 82'	Bericht	Toha  74'	Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Referee: Mehrez Melki (Tunisia)

Mali v Uganda

13 October Friendly	Mali	1–0	Uganda	Bamako, Mali
	Sinayoko 73' (pen.)	Bericht		Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars

Saudi-Arabien v Mali

17 October Friendly	Saudi-Arabien	1–3	Mali	Portimão, Portugal
	S. Al-Dawsari 58'	Bericht	M. Doumbia 14' H. Traoré 42' Sinayoko 71'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Portimão

Mali v Tschad

17 November 2026 World Cup Qualification	Mali	3–1	Tschad	Bamako, Mali
19:00 UTC±0	Doumbia 45' Niakaté 77' I. Sissoko 81'	Bericht	Mouandilmadji 53'	Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Referee: Ahmad Heeralall (Mauritania)

Mali v Zentralafrikanische Republik

20 November 2026 World Cup Qualification	Mali	1–1	Zentralafrikanische Republik	Bamako, Mali
19:00 UTC+3	Doumbia 76'	Bericht	Kondogbia 79'	Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Georges Gatogato (Burundi)

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Eric Chelle
Assistant coach	Fousseni Diawara
Goalkeeper coach	Mahamadou Sidibé

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–)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against South Sudan on 8 September 2023.

Caps and goals updated after the match against Zentralafrikanische Republik on 20 November 2023.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
16	1GK	Djigui Diarra	(1995-02-27) 27 February 1995	50	0	Young Africans
1	1GK	Ibrahim Mounkoro	(1990-02-23) 23 February 1990	14	0	TP Mazembe
22	1GK	Ismael Diawara	(1994-11-11) 11 November 1994	7	0	AIK
2	2DF	Hamari Traoré (Captain)	(1992-01-27) 27 January 1992	47	1	Real Sociedad
15	2DF	Mamadou Fofana	(1998-01-21) 21 January 1998	33	1	Amiens
17	2DF	Falaye Sacko	(1995-05-01) 1 May 1995	32	1	Montpellier
5	2DF	Kiki Kouyaté	(1997-04-15) 15 April 1997	25	0	Montpellier
6	2DF	Massadio Haïdara	(1992-12-02) 2 December 1992	15	2	Lens
3	2DF	Fousseni Sidibé	(1999-07-10) 10 July 1999	1	0	Braga
	2DF	Moussa Ballo	(1996-01-11) 11 January 1996	11	0	AFE
4	3MF	Amadou Haidara	(1998-01-31) 31 January 1998	35	2	RB Leipzig
21	3MF	Adama Traoré	(1995-06-28) 28 June 1995	34	5	Hull City
10	3MF	Yves Bissouma	(1996-08-30) 30 August 1996	30	3	Tottenham Hotspur
23	3MF	Aliou Dieng	(1997-10-15) 15 October 1997	27	2	Al-Ahly
12	3MF	Mohamed Camara	(2000-01-06) 6 January 2000	18	3	Monaco
18	3MF	Cheick Doucouré	(2000-01-08) 8 January 2000	12	0	Crystal Palace
8	3MF	Kamory Doumbia	(2003-02-18) 18 February 2003	4	3	Reims
	3MF	Souleymane Barry	(2000-12-25) 25 December 2000	1	0	Sheffield United
11	3MF	Lassana Coulibaly	(1996-04-10) 10 April 1996	33	0	Salernitana
14	4FW	Adama Traoré	(1995-06-05) 5 June 1995	49	8	Ferencváros
7	4FW	Moussa Doumbia	(1994-08-15) 15 August 1994	39	5	Al-Adalah
19	4FW	Moussa Djenepo	(1998-06-15) 15 June 1998	31	3	Standard Liège
12	4FW	Nene Dorgeles	(2002-12-23) 23 December 2002	5	0	Red Bull Salzburg
20	4FW	Lassine Sinayoko	(1999-12-08) 8 December 1999	7	2	Auxerre
9	4FW	Ibrahima Sissoko	(1997-10-27) 27 October 1997	3	1	Strasbourg
19	4FW	Djibril Maïga	(1995-10-18) 18 October 1995	0	0	Lausanne-Sport

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Mali in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Aboubacar Doumbia	(1995-04-19) 19 April 1995	0	0	Afrique Football Élite	v. Gambia, 28 March 2023
DF	Almamy Touré	(1996-04-28) 28 April 1996	1	0	Unattached	v. Congo, 18 June 2023
DF	Moussa Diarra	(2000-11-10) 10 November 2000	1	0	Toulouse	v. Gambia, 28 March 2023
DF	Amadou Dante	(2000-10-07) 7 October 2000	6	0	Sturm Graz	v. Zentralafrikanische Republik, 20 November 2023
DF	Mamadou Traoré	(1994-10-03) 3 October 1994	4	0	Muaither	v. Saudi-Arabien, 17 October 2023
DF	Issiar Dramé	(1999-02-16) 16 February 1999	0	0	Bastia	v. Gambia, 28 March 2023
DF	Mamadou Traoré	(1994-10-03) 3 October 1994	4	0	Muaither	v. Saudi-Arabien, 17 October 2023
DF	Amadou Dante	(2000-10-07) 7 October 2000	6	0	Sturm Graz	v. Zentralafrikanische Republik, 20 November 2023
MF	Diadie Samassékou	(1996-01-11) 11 January 1996	35	1	1899 Hoffenheim	v.
MF	Adama Traoré	(1995-06-28) 28 June 1995	34	5	Hull City	v. South Sudan, 8 September 2023
FW	El Bilal Touré	(2001-10-03) 3 October 2001	15	5	Atalanta	v. Congo, 18 June 2023
FW	Boubacar Traoré	(1999-12-14) 14 December 1999	2	0	Union Monastirienne	v. Uganda, 13 October 2023
FW	Ibrahima Koné	(1999-06-16) 16 June 1999	16	13	Almería	v. Uganda, 13 October 2023
FW	Sékou Koïta	(1999-11-28) 28 November 1999	23	4	Red Bull Salzburg	v. Congo, 18 June 2023
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

As of 8 September 2023

Players in bold are still active with Mali.

Seydou Keita is Mali's top goalscorer and their most capped player.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Seydou Keita	102	25	1998–2015
2	Mahamadou Sidibé	97	0	1996–2010
3	Bassala Touré	95	17	1992–2008
4	Adama Tamboura	89	0	2004–2015
5	Adama Coulibaly	85	1	1998–2014
6	Soumaila Coulibaly	83	14	1995–2009
7	Mahamadou Diarra	73	7	1998–2012
8	Modibo Maïga	58	12	2007–2016
9	Ousmane Farota	57	0	1985–1997
10	Fousseni Diawara	56	0	2001–2015

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Seydou Keita	25	102	0.25	1998–2015
2	Frédéric Kanouté	23	39	0.77	2004–2010
3	Bassala Touré	17	95	0.18	1994–2008
4	Cheick Diabaté	15	38	0.39	2005–2016
5	Yaya Dissa	14	42	0.33	1995–2001
	Soumaila Coulibaly	14	83	0.17	1995–2009
7	Ibrahima Koné	13	17	0.76	2017–present
8	Modibo Maïga	12	58	0.21	2007–2016
9	Salif Keïta	11	26	0.42	1964–1972
10	Mahamadou Dissa	10	35	0.29	1997–2008
	Mamadou Diallo	10	45	0.22	2001–2010

Competition records

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter									Did not enter
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966	Withdrew									Withdrew
1970	Did not enter									Did not enter
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994	Withdrew									Withdrew
1998
2002	Did not qualify									2	1	0	1	3	4
2006										12	4	2	6	15	15
2010										12	6	3	3	21	15
2014										6	2	2	2	7	7
2018										8	1	4	3	4	11
2022										8	5	2	1	11	1
2026	To be determined									1	1	0	0	3	1
2030										To be determined
2034
Total		0/25	0	0	0	0	0	0		49	20	13	16	64	54

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 thirteen 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.

Africa Cup of Nations record											Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957	Part of Frankreich										Part of Frankreich
1959
1962	Did not enter										Did not enter
1963
1965	Did not qualify										Did not qualify
1968
1970
1972	Runners-up	2nd	5	1	3	1	11	11	Squad		4	3	1	0	7	2
1974	Did not qualify										4	1	3	0	8	6
1976											2	1	0	1	5	3
1978											2	1	0	1	1	2
1980											Did not enter
1982											4	2	0	2	7	7
1984											4	2	0	2	5	6
1986											4	1	2	1	4	9
1988											Withdrew
1990											6	2	3	1	8	7
1992											6	0	3	3	2	7
1994	Fourth place	4th	5	2	0	3	4	8	Squad		6	3	1	2	8	7
1996	Did not qualify										10	5	1	4	15	10
1998											6	3	0	3	9	9
2000											8	3	4	1	8	3
2002	Fourth place	4th	6	2	2	2	5	5	Squad		Qualified as hosts
2004	Fourth place	4th	6	3	1	2	10	10	Squad		6	4	1	1	9	2
2006	Did not qualify										12	4	2	6	15	15
2008	Group stage	10th	3	1	1	1	1	3	Squad		6	3	3	0	10	1
2010	Group stage	9th	3	1	1	1	7	6	Squad		12	6	3	3	21	15
2012	Third place	3rd	6	3	1	2	6	5	Squad		6	3	1	2	9	6
2013	Third place	3rd	6	2	2	2	7	8	Squad		2	2	0	0	7	1
2015	Group stage	10th	3	0	3	0	3	3	Squad		6	3	0	3	8	6
2017	Group stage	12th	3	0	2	1	1	2	Squad		6	5	1	0	13	3
2019	Round of 16	11th	4	2	1	1	6	3	Squad		6	4	2	0	10	2
2021	Round of 16	11th	4	2	2	0	4	1	Squad		6	4	1	1	10	4
2023	Qualified										In progress
2025	To be determined										To be determined
2027
Total	Runners-up	13/36	54	19	19	16	65	65	—		136	65	32	38	199	133

African Nations Championship

Mali has competed in five African Nations Championship tournaments, finishing as runners-up twice.

African Nations Championship record										Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2009	Did not qualify									2	0	2	0	0	0
2011	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	1	3		2	1	1	0	3	1
2014	Quarter-finals	8th	4	2	1	1	6	5		2	1	0	1	3	2
2016	Runners-up	2nd	6	3	2	1	6	6		4	2	2	0	7	4
2018	Did not qualify									4	1	2	1	6	3
2020	Runners-up	2nd	6	2	3	1	3	3		4	3	1	0	9	0
2022	Group stage	15th	2	0	1	1	3	4		2	2	0	0	4	1
Total	Runners-up	5/7	21	7	8	6	19	21		20	10	8	2	32	11

African Games

See also: Mali national under-23 football team

African Games record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1965	Runners-up	5	3	1	1	10	5
1973	Did not qualify
1978	Group stage	3	0	2	1	3	5
1987	Did not qualify
1991–present	See Mali national under-23 football team
Total	2/4	8	3	3	2	13	10

Head-to-head record

Team	Confederation	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Algerien	CAF	24	10	2	12	22	36	–14
Angola	CAF	4	1	2	1	8	5	+3
Benin	CAF	16	8	7	1	27	16	+11
Botswana	CAF	7	6	0	1	19	5	+14
Burkina Faso	CAF	21	13	3	5	36	20	+16
Kamerun	CAF	6	0	2	4	3	8	–5
Kap Verde	CAF	7	3	2	2	10	4	+6
Tschad	CAF	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2
China	AFC	2	1	0	1	3	5	–2
Congo	CAF	10	5	2	3	14	9	+5
DR Congo	CAF	6	3	1	2	11	9	+2
Kroatien	UEFA	1	0	0	1	1	2	–1
Ägypten	CAF	10	4	2	4	8	8	0
Äquatorial-Guinea	CAF	3	3	0	0	5	0	+5
Eritrea	CAF	2	2	0	0	3	0	+3
Äthiopien	CAF	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1
Gabun	CAF	12	2	5	5	10	16	–6
Gambia	CAF	18	7	5	6	22	16	+6
Ghana	CAF	17	3	6	8	14	28	–14
Guinea	CAF	39	10	17	12	43	43	0
Guinea-Bissau	CAF	12	9	2	1	26	9	+17
Iran	AFC	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Ivory Coast	CAF	26	2	8	16	17	47	–30
Japan	AFC	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Kenia	CAF	2	1	1	0	4	2	+2
North Korea	AFC	1	0	0	1	0	1	–1
Südkorea	AFC	1	0	0	1	1	3	–2
Kuwait	AFC	3	0	0	3	4	10	–10
Liberia	CAF	10	5	3	2	19	11	+8
Libyen	CAF	7	3	1	3	9	10	–1
Litauen	UEFA	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
Madagaskar	CAF	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
Malawi	CAF	5	3	1	1	8	5	+3
Mauretanien	CAF	30	18	7	5	60	23	+37
Marokko	CAF	19	5	6	8	12	31	–19
Mosambik	CAF	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1
Namibia	CAF	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2
Niger	CAF	8	5	2	1	10	4	+6
Nigeria	CAF	9	1	3	5	5	12	–7
Oman	AFC	2	0	1	1	1	2	–1
Katar	AFC	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Ruanda	CAF	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1
Saudi-Arabien	AFC	2	1	0	1	4	6	–2
Senegal	CAF	32	8	12	12	33	41	–8
Seychellen	CAF	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5
Sierra Leone	CAF	13	4	7	2	17	9	+8
Südafrika	CAF	4	1	2	1	4	2	+2
South Sudan	CAF	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5
Sudan	CAF	4	2	1	1	7	4	+3
Togo	CAF	14	6	2	6	23	15	+8
Tunesien	CAF	8	4	0	4	8	8	0
Uganda	CAF	4	1	2	1	8	4	+4
Vereinigte Arabische Emirate	AFC	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Sambia	CAF	5	0	2	3	3	8	–5
Simbabwe	CAF	6	2	1	3	4	5	–1

Team honours

As of 14 August 2017

Continental

• Africa Cup of Nations
  • Runners-up (1): 1972
• African Nations Championship
  • Runners-up (2): 2016, 2020

Other tournaments

• Amilcar Cabral Cup
  • Champions (3): 1989, 1997, 2007
  • Runners-up (4): –
• Qatar International Friendship Tournament
  • Third place (1): 2009–10

See also

• Football in Mali

External links

• Mali FF (archived 28 January 2020)
• Mali Football Portal
• Mali at CAF
• Mali at FIFA
• Courtney, Barrie. Mali – List of International Matches at RSSSF.com (last updated: 19 August 2010)