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.[4] However, the side was re-instated by FIFA on 29 April after the executive committee was re-introduced by the Malian government.[5]
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.
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.[10] 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,[11] 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,[12][13] where Mali won two matches and one ended in a draw.[14] 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,[15] and a goalless draw prevailed in the return match in Radès.[16] This was Mali's closest chance of qualifying for the World Cup.[17] 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.
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.
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.
