The Mali national football team (French: Équipe nationale 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, but could still qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. They have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations on 12 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]
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 and 2012.
They played their first World Cupqualifier 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.[6]
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.[7]
In the 2006 World Cupqualifiers, 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.[8]
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.[9] 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.
The following players were selected for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.[10] Caps and goals correct as of 12 January 2022, after the match against Tunisia.
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 has never won the Africa Cup of Nations, however their best result at the tournament was Runners-up – in 1972. Mali have qualified for the tournament twelve 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.
(23 December 2021)[2]
Mali 4–3 Central African Republic 
Mali 11–0 Mauritania 
Algeria 7–0 Mali 
Kuwait 8–1 Mali 
Kappa
Chad 
Rwanda 
Kenya 
4
Ben Oumar Sy (1960–66)
György Tóth (1966–70)
Karl-Heinz Weigang (1970–73)
Mykola Holovko (1979–82)
Christian Sarramagna (1998–2000)
Romano Mattè (2000–01)
Henryk Kasperczak (2001–02)
Stephen Keshi (2008–10)
Young Africans
Malmö
Vitória de Guimarães
Standard Liège
Hatayspor
RB Leipzig
Brighton & Hove Albion
Al Ahly
Red Bull Salzburg
Sheriff Tiraspol
Sarpsborg 08
Mynai
Sahab
Oman
Olympic Safi
Al-Safa
Tevragh-Zeina
Adama City
1957
1959
1962
1963
1965
1972
1974
1976
1980
1982
1984
1992
1996
1998
2010
2012
2021
2011
1930
1934
1938
1950
1954
1962
1970
1978
1982
1994
2002
2014
2018
2022
1965
Benin
Botswana
Cape Verde
China PR
Croatia
Eritrea
Guinea-Bissau
Iran
North Korea
South Korea
Liberia
Libya
Lithuania
Madagascar
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
South Sudan
Togo
United Arab Emirates
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Africa Cup of Nations
1972
2016, 2020
