Mali To Play Two Friendlies In France

Mali will play two international friendly matches next month to prepare for upcoming qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Mali national team head coach Mohamed Magassouba confirmed the friendlies to the media on Sunday but failed to name the teams.

The match against the yet-to-be determined teams will be played on October 9 and 13, Magassouba said.

Mali had planned to play Ghana on October 10 in Bamako but that game was cancelled by FIFA based on its regulation which prohibits teams from playing on two different continents within a short period of time.

However, there are reports in the media that the Les Aigles has lined up friendlies against Comoros and Angola in Paris during FIFA free dates in October.

“Let me say that we have two games on the October 9th and 13^th in Paris, France, although are yet to sign the contracts.

“We will be signing the contracts any time soon and so when we sign we will confirm the opponents,” he said.

Due to postponements caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Mali last played in November 2019, a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Chad in N’Djamena, which they won 2-0.

They are scheduled to also take on Namibia in two qualifying matches for the 2021 Cup of Nations in November.

The matches were to have been played in March, but were rescheduled due to the virus.

Mali are second in their qualifying group for the continental tournament, which will now be played in 2022 in Cameroon, with four points from two matches.

Guinea, Namibia and Chad are the other teams in this group with the top two teams advancing to the tournament finals.