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Tunisia national football team
Africa Cup of Nations | Group Stage
Jan 12, 2022 at 1pm UK
 
Mali national football team

Tunisia
0 - 1
Mali


Mathlouthi (22'), Skhiri (47')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Kone (48' pen.)
Traore (18'), Djenepo (33')
Bilal Toure (87')

Preview: Tunisia vs. Mali - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Africa Cup of Nations clash between Tunisia and Mali, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Tunisia and Mali get their quest for continental glory underway on Wednesday when they square off at the Limbe Omnisport Stadium in Group F of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Eagles of Carthage are still licking their wounds following their Arab Cup final defeat at the hands of Algeria back in December and will look to put that behind them as quickly as possible.


Match preview

Tunisia players celebrate after winning the match against Ghana on July 8, 2019© Reuters

While Tunisia have struggled for success at the Africa Cup of Nations, claiming the crown just once in their history, they are one of the represented nations at the tournament and will be making a 15th consecutive appearance this year.

Their only triumph came back in 2004 as the host nation when they edged out rivals Morocco 2-1 in the final courtesy of goals from Francileudo Santos and Ziad Jaziri either side of Youssouf Hadji's 38th-minute equaliser.

Tunisia, who are 30th in the latest FIFA world rankings, secured a fourth-placed finish in Egypt back in 2019, when they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Senegal in the semi-finals before losing by the same scoreline to Nigeria in the losers' final.

However, the Eagles of Carthage head into Cameroon following one of the most dominant qualifying runs in the history of the tournament, topping Group A with a healthy seven-point lead over runners-up Equatorial Guinea after claiming five wins from six games — the most of all teams in the qualifiers — and scoring the second-most goals with 14.

Led by the experienced manager Mondher Kebaier, Tunisia will now look to quickly move on from Arab Cup disappointment after they made it all the way to the final where they suffered a 2-0 defeat against reigning African champions Algeria back in December.

Adama Traore - not the Wolves one - celebrates scoring for Mali on June 24, 2019© Reuters

Like Tunisia, Mali have been a regular face at the prestigious continental tournament in recent years and will be making their eighth consecutive appearance after a superb qualification campaign.

Les Aigles won four games and dropped just five points in the qualifiers to collect 13 points from six outings and finish top of Group A, two points above second-placed Guinea.

Mohamed Magassouba's men have been in sensational form since then, picking up five wins and one draw from six competitive games to secure safe passage into the playoffs of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Off the back of a round-of-16 exit in the last edition three years ago, when they lost 1-0 to Ivory Coast courtesy of Wilfried Zaha's second-half strike, the West African nation will hope they can translate their current form into a fine run in Cameroon as they look to improve on their 2019 finish.

Mali take on Gambia in their next outing, before wrapping things up in the group stages with a clash against Northwest African side Mauritania on January 20, and three points on Wednesday will undoubtedly set the pace for things to come.

Tunisia form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L

Mali form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L


Team News

Mali coach Mohamed Magassouba pictured in June, 2019© Reuters

Tunisia head into the tournament with an experienced 28-man squad, including Saint-Etienne forward Wahbi Khazri, who is second on the nation's all-time appearance chart with 22 goals in 65 games.

Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbr, who boasts nine appearances in national team colours, has also earned a place in the squad and we expect the 21-year-old to push for a starting role at the centre of the park.

There are two new faces in the Tunisia squad with the duo of Bechir Ben Said and Ali Jemal receiving their debut call-ups after an impressive spell in the domestic league.

Meanwhile, the Malians boast a fine crop of midfield talent as they head into the tournament with the likes of Moussa Djenepo, Yves Bissouma and Amadou Haidara.

The RB Leipzig man recently returned from an injury lay-off and should start in the midfield trio, with 22-year-old Ibrahima Kone spearheading the attack.

Kone has netted eight goals in six games for Mali since making his debut back in 2017 and will be one to keep an eye out for in this tournament.

Tunisia possible starting lineup:
Mustapha; Drager, Talbi, Bronn, Maaloul; Slimane, Skhiri; Sliti, Mejbri, Jaziri; Khazri

Mali possible starting lineup:
Mounkoro; Sacko, Kouyate, Sissako, C Traore; Haidara, Bissouma; Coulibaly, A Traore, Djenepo; Kone


SM words green background

We say: Tunisia 2-1 Mali

Tunisia and Mali head into Wednesday's game as two of the most in-form nations at the tournament and this makes for an exciting and riveting watch. While we expect Magassouba's men to put up a valiant fight, we are tipping the The Eagles of Carthage to snatch an opening-day win.






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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Tunisia win with a probability of 54.25%. A win for Mali had a probability of 22.89% and a draw had a probability of 22.9%.

The most likely scoreline for a Tunisia win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.83%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.64%) and 2-0 (8.84%). The likeliest Mali win was 1-2 (5.96%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.72%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 5.8% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Tunisia vs Mali

Tunisia
56.5%
Draw
21.4%
Mali
22.1%
154
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Equatorial Guinea flag Eq Guinea32107
Q Nigeria Nigeria32107
Q Cote D'Ivoire flag Ivory Coast31023
4 Guinea-Bissau flag Guinea-Bissau30030

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Cape Verde flag Cape Verde32107
Q Egypt Egypt30303
3 Ghana flag Ghana30212
4 Mozambique flag Mozambique30212

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Senegal flag Senegal33009
Q Guinea flag Guinea31114
Q Cameroon flag Cameroon31114
4 Gambia flag Gambia30030

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Angola Angola32107
Q Burkina Faso flag Burkina Faso31114
Q Mauritania flag Mauritania31023
4 Algeria Algeria30212

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Mali flag Mali31205
Q South Africa South Africa31114
Q Namibia Namibia31114
4 Tunisia Tunisia30212

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Morocco Morocco32107
Q DR Congo flag Congo DR30303
3 Tanzania flag Tanzania30212
4 Zambia flag Zambia30212


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