MATCH STATS: Mali vs Senegal – TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Quarter-final

Senegal and Mali will clash in a Quarter-final at the Grande Stade de Tanger at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 on 9 January, with kick-off at 17h00 local time (16h00 GMT).

Senegal have played all four of their matches at the tournament in Tangier. Mali have played three games in Casablanca, including two group games and their Round of 16 clash, and one group match in Rabat.

This is only the second meeting between Mali and Senegal at the AFCON finals. Their only previous encounter came at the 2004 edition during the Group Stage, when they met in their final Group B match. The game ended 1-1, with Mali taking the lead through Dramane Traoré in the 34th minute before Senegal equalised through Habib Beye in first-half stoppage time.

Both teams progressed to the Quarterfinals in 2004 when paired together in Group B, with Mali finishing as group winners and Senegal runners-up ahead of Kenya and Burkina Faso.

Overall, the sides meet for the 41st time, with Senegal leading the head-to-head with 19 wins to Mali’s eight, while 13 matches have ended in draws.

Senegal have outscored Mali 61-38 across their previous 40 meetings.

Senegal qualified for the AFCON for the first time in 1965, defeating Mali in the qualifiers with a 2-0 away win and a 3-1 home victory, finishing ahead of Guinea and Mali.

Senegal are unbeaten in their last 13 matches against Mali, recording six wins and seven draws.

Mali’s last victory over Senegal came in a friendly match on 26 November 1997, a 2-1 win in Dakar.

Their most recent meeting was also a friendly, played on 26 March 2019 in Dakar. Senegal won 2-1 with goals from Sadio Mané in the 87th and 90th minutes after Adama Traoré had given Mali the lead in the 72nd minute.

PAST MEETINGS

OVERALL
Mali: P40 W8 D13 L19 GF38 GA61 GD-23
Senegal: P40 W19 D12 L8 GF61 GA38 GD+23
* Games decided on penalties recorded as draws.
** African Games matches from 1991 onwards not recorded as part of head-to-head records as these were age-group fixtures

AFCON ONLY
Mali: P1 W0 D1 L0 GF1 GA1 GD0
Senegal: P1 W0 D1 L0 GF1 GA1 GD0

PAST AFCON MEETINGS
2004 – Group B – 2 February 2004
Senegal 1 (Beye 45+2’) Mali 1 (Traoré 34’)

Mali – Key Statistics

• Reached the Quarterfinals without winning a game in open play, drawing all four matches
• Overcame Tunisia in the Round of 16 after trailing 1-0, with the match ending level after extra time before winning 3-2 on penalties
• Appearing in the Quarterfinals for the eighth time, after also reaching this stage in 1994, 2002, 2004, 2012, 2013 and 2023
• Have progressed past the Quarterfinals five times: 1994, 2002, 2004, 2012 and 2023
• Their only Quarterfinal defeat came in 2023, a 2-1 loss to Côte d’Ivoire after extra time
• Have won two Quarterfinals on penalties (2012, 2013) and three in open play: 1-0 vs Egypt in 1994, 2-0 vs South Africa in 2002 and 2-1 vs Guinea in 2004
• Victory would take them to the Semi-finals for the sixth time, after 1972, 1994, 2002, 2004, 2012 and 2013
• Have not reached the Semi-finals since 2013
• In their last five AFCON appearances, have suffered two group-stage eliminations, two Round of 16 exits and one Quarterfinal defeat
• Have now progressed from the Round of 16 in successive tournaments after earlier eliminations at this stage in 2019 and 2021
• Their last two knockout matches have gone to extra time: the 2023 Quarterfinal loss to Côte d’Ivoire and the current Round of 16 win over Tunisia
• Three of their last four knockout matches have gone to extra time, also losing on penalties to Equatorial Guinea in the 2021 Round of 16
• Their only knockout match in their last four decided in 90 minutes was a 2-1 win over Burkina Faso in the 2023 Quarterfinals
• Have played six AFCON matches that went to extra time, four of which went to penalties
• Have won only one AFCON match in extra time in open play, a 4-3 Semi-final win over DR Congo in 1972, with Fantamady Keïta scoring in the 92nd minute
• Lost 2-1 after extra time to Côte d’Ivoire in the 2023 Quarterfinals after leading from the 71st minute through Dorgeles Néné
• Have been involved in four penalty shoot-outs at AFCON, winning three and losing one
• Defeated hosts Gabon on penalties in the 2012 Quarterfinals (5-4) after a 1-1 draw
• Beat hosts South Africa on penalties in the 2013 Quarterfinals (3-1) after a 1-1 draw
• Lost on penalties to Equatorial Guinea in the 2021 Round of 16 after a 0-0 draw
• Won their third AFCON shoot-out against Tunisia in the current Round of 16 after a 1-1 draw
• Heaviest knockout defeats were 4-0 losses to Zambia and Morocco in the 1994 and 2004 Semi-finals
• Currently on a five-match winless run (D4 L1), with their last win coming against Burkina Faso in the 2023 Round of 16
• Their longest previous winless run was six matches across the 2015 and 2017 group stages
• This is the first time Mali have gone through their first four matches of an AFCON without a win in open play
• Previously reached the Semi-finals in 1972 without winning a game, drawing all three group matches
• Would become the first team to reach the Semi-finals without winning any of their first five matches in open play at AFCON
• Mali have been involved in 25 draws across 63 AFCON matches (W21 L17)
• Lassine Sinayoko has scored three goals at the 2025 AFCON, more than any other Mali player
• Another goal would make him the third Malian to score four or more goals at an AFCON finals after Fantamady Keïta (1972) and Frédéric Kanouté (2004)
• Sinayoko’s six AFCON goals rank him third among Mali scorers behind Seydou Keïta (8) and Kanouté (7)
• His six goals have come in six different AFCON matches
• Mali are unbeaten in all six AFCON matches in which Sinayoko has scored (W2 D4)
• Djigui Diarra made five saves against Tunisia, the most by any goalkeeper in a match at the current finals
• It was the first time he made at least five saves in an AFCON match since recording six against South Africa in 2023
• Diarra saved two penalties in the shoot-out against Tunisia
• Woyo Coulibaly was sent off in the 26th minute against Tunisia, the second Malian red card of the tournament
• Mali had just 27.8% possession against Tunisia
• Completed only 140 passes in that match, with Yves Bissouma completing 19, the most for Mali
• Sinayoko’s converted penalty was Mali’s only shot on target against Tunisia
• Sinayoko has had nine shots at goal, four on target, and has created nine chances, more than any other Mali player

Senegal – Key Statistics

• Have won three matches in open play, last winning four at the same AFCON in 2019
• Have won their last two matches; last won three in a row at the 2021 AFCON
• Defeated Sudan after conceding first, their first such AFCON win since beating Ghana 2-1 in 2015
• Prior to the Sudan win, had failed to win their previous six matches when conceding first
• The Sudan victory was their first AFCON knockout win after conceding first since beating Guinea 3-2 in 2006
• Are unbeaten in their last 15 AFCON matches (W10 D5), their longest run in the competition
• Their last AFCON defeat came in the 2019 final against Algeria
• Have scored in their last eight AFCON matches
• Last failed to score in an AFCON match in the 2021 final against Egypt
• Have scored in all four matches at the current finals
• Have never previously scored in five consecutive matches at a single AFCON edition
• Are unbeaten in open play in their last nine direct AFCON knockout matches
• Last lost a direct knockout match in open play in the 2006 Semi-final against Egypt
• Unbeaten in open play in their last six knockout matches across all stages
• Are unbeaten in their last six knockout matches against West African opponents (W5 D1)
• This is their 10th Quarterfinal appearance, having won at this stage in 2002, 2006, 2019 and 2021
• Have lost five Quarterfinals, four in open play and one on penalties
• All four open-play Quarterfinal defeats were by a single-goal margin
• Won Quarterfinals in 2002, 2006, 2019 and 2021
• Only Quarterfinal decided on penalties was the 2017 loss to Cameroon
• Only other Quarterfinal to go to extra time was the 2000 defeat to Nigeria
• Have won three of their last four Quarterfinals
• Are unbeaten in open play in their last four Quarterfinals
• Victory would take them to their fifth Semi-final appearance
• Sadio Mané has contributed to goals in his last three AFCON matches
• Mané’s three assists are the most at the current finals
• Mané now holds the record for most AFCON assists (9)
• Pape Gueye has scored twice at the current edition
• Moussa Niakhaté recorded the most touches, passes and highest passing accuracy in the Sudan match
• Ismaïla Sarr had nine touches in the opposition penalty area against Sudan
• Senegal have committed 75 fouls, the most by any team
• Idrissa Gueye has completed more passes than any other Senegal player