MATCH FACTS: Mali clash with Angola in Group D opener at the TotalEnergies CAF U17 AFCON, Morocco 2025
Mali will take on Angola in the opening game of Group D at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025 at the Berrechid Municipal Stadium on Tuesday (kick-off 17:00 local time / GMT.
This is the third meeting between Angola and Mali at the TotalEnergies CAF U17 AFCON and the West Africans have won both their previous clashed at the finals.
The sides met in their final group game in 1999, in a match which both teams needed to win to progress. Mali claimed a 2-1 success and topped Group B, eventually finishing third at the tournament.
Mali then won 6-1 when they last met at the finals in their final group game in 2017, progressing as Group B winners on their way to eventually lifting the title.
Angola will be facing a West African team for a ninth time and their record in these games reads P8 W2 D1 L5.
Angola have won just two of their eight meetings against West African teams, beating Ghana (3-1) and Nigeria (1-0) in the group stages in 1997 and 1999 respectively.
Angola have lost their last three games against teams from West Africa.
MALI FACTS
· Mali are three-time finalists, having featured in the decider in 1997, 2015 and 2017. They lifted the trophy in 2015 and 2017 and are so far the only team to have made a successful defence of the title.
· Mali were the inaugural hosts of the tournament in 1995 where they finished in fourth place.
· Mali one of five teams along with Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria to have won multiple TotalEnergies CAF U17 AFCON titles.
· They have finished in the top three five times previously. Only Ghana (6) have more top three finishes than them. They have qualified for a 10th finals competition, the most appearances along with Nigeria.
· They qualified for the first four editions of the tournament in 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001. They only missed out on one of the first six finals, which was in 2003.
· Of their previous nine appearances at the finals, they have failed to reach the knockout stages just twice, in 2005 and 2011. In their other seven appearances they ended fourth in 1995, were runners up in 1997, and ended third in successive tournaments in 1999 and 2001. They won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2017 but missed out on qualifying for the 2019 edition and were unable to defend their title. In 2023 they ended fourth.
· Mali have reached the semi-finals seven times, the joint most number of appearances of team in the last-4 along with Nigeria.
· Mali’s record in their opening group game at the finals reads P9 W2 D3 L4. Their two wins came in 2015 with a 3-1 victory over Cameroon and 2023 with a 1-0 win over Burkina Faso.
· On two previous occasions (1995 and 2001) when beginning the finals with losses, Mali recovered to progress to the knockout rounds, ending fourth in 1995 and third in 2001.
· Mali have won their last four group games at the finals and are undefeated in their last eight pool matches (W6 D2). Their last loss in the group stages was in 2011 in their final game, a 2-1 defeat against Congo.
· In their last 15 games at the finals, Mali have lost just one game in open play, which was against Burkina Faso in the play-off for third in 2023 (W10 D4).
· Mali have conceded just two goals in their last seven games, with both goals coming in their 2-1 defeat against Burkina Faso in the 2023 play-off for third.
ANGOLA FACTS
· Angola make a return to the tournament after missing out in 2023. They previously qualified in 1997, 1999, 2017 and 2019.
· Their record in their opening game reads P4 W1 D2 L1. The only win in their opening game was a 1-0 triumph over Uganda in 2019.
· Angola were thrice previously eliminated at the group stages in 1997, 1999 and 2017. Their best performance was a third place finish in 2019.
· They have only once previously failed to register at least one win at the finals which was in 2017, when they drew one game and lost two.
· Angola have played 14 games at the finals and their record reads W5 D2 L7. All those games have seen goals.
· Their biggest wins were 3-1 and 4-2 triumphs over Ghana and Angola in their final group games in 1997 and 2019 respectively.
· Angola’s biggest loss was in their 6-1 defeat against Mali in their final group game in 2017.
· They qualified by ending as runners-up to Zambia at the 2024 COSAFA U17 Championships, topped their group with wins over Lesotho and Mozambique, and a draw with Malawi. They managed to overcome Zimbabwe 2-0 in the last-4 before a narrow 2-1 loss to Zambia in the decider.