MATCH STATS: Mali face Cabo Verde in TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON Morocco 2026 Group D
Mali and tournament debutants Cabo Verde meet in their second Group D fixture at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Sunday, 2 August, with kick-off at 21h00 local time (20h00 GMT).
Match Facts
• This will be the first meeting between Mali and Cabo Verde at the WAFCON finals.
• Mali are facing tournament debutants for the seventh time. Their record in the previous six matches reads three wins, one draw and two defeats.
• Mali defeated DR Congo 3-2 in 2006, Tanzania by the same score in 2010 and Kenya 3-1 in 2016.
• They lost 3-0 to Algeria in 2004 and 1-0 to Congo in 2008, while drawing 2-2 with Ethiopia in 2002.
• Mali have never kept a clean sheet against tournament debutants, conceding in all six previous matches.
• This will be Mali’s 10th WAFCON match against fellow West African opposition. Their record in the previous nine reads one win, one draw and seven defeats.
• Mali have avoided defeat only twice against fellow West African opposition, with both results coming against Ghana. They won 2-1 in the group stage in 2018 and drew 1-1 at the last edition.
• Mali have conceded in all nine of their previous WAFCON matches against fellow West African teams.
• Mali’s Yakaré Niakaté and Cabo Verde’s Sylviane Gomes are teammates at French club OGC Nice.
• The teams met in the qualifiers for the current edition. Mali won the first leg in Praia 1-0 before Cabo Verde claimed a 4-2 victory in Bamako on 28 October 2025 to win the tie 4-3 on aggregate and qualify for their first WAFCON finals.
• Since their victory over Mali in the second leg of that qualifier, Cabo Verde have failed to win their last five games, recording one draw and four defeats.
• They have failed to score in all five of those matches.
Mali – Key Statistics
• Mali began their ninth WAFCON campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Cameroon.
• They have lost their opening game at the finals seven times, with their other two results producing one win and one draw.
• This was the third time Mali began a WAFCON campaign against Cameroon. They have failed to win all three encounters, recording one draw and two defeats.
• Mali have lost their last three matches at the finals.
• They are winless in their last four WAFCON games, recording one draw and three defeats.
• Their victory over Tanzania in their opening match at the last edition is their only win in their last seven WAFCON games, with one draw and five defeats.
• Mali have conceded in each of their last four matches. Their most recent clean sheet came in the victory over Tanzania at the last edition.
• That clean sheet against Tanzania is the only one they have kept in their 28 WAFCON matches.
• Mali have started a tournament with successive defeats only once before, in 2008, when they lost to Congo and Cameroon.
• They have recovered from an opening defeat to win their second group game on three previous occasions, doing so in 2006, 2010 and 2018.
• Mali have progressed beyond the group stage after losing their opening match only once, in 2018.
• Their overall record in second group games reads P8 W4 D2 L2.
• Four of Mali’s six WAFCON victories have come in their second group game.
• They won their second group matches in 2006, 2010, 2016 and 2018.
• Mali are unbeaten in their second group game across their last four appearances. They recorded three successive victories in 2010, 2016 and 2018 before drawing with Ghana at the last edition.
• They have scored in seven of their eight second group games, failing to find the net only in a 3-0 defeat to Algeria in 2004.
• Mali have conceded in all eight of their second group games.
• Three of their four victories in second group games have been by a single goal. The exception was their 3-1 win over Kenya in 2016.
• Five of Mali’s six victories at the finals have been by a single goal, with the win over Kenya the only exception.
• Aïssata Traoré scored Mali’s goal from the penalty spot in the defeat to Cameroon, taking her WAFCON tally to three. She previously scored at the 2018 and 2024 editions.
• Mali completed 96 of their 191 attempted passes against Cameroon, giving them a passing accuracy of 50%.
• Coulouba Sogoré made 11 clearances against Cameroon, the most by a Mali player in the match.
• The defeat to Cameroon was Mali’s 19th at the WAFCON.
• Another loss would see them suffer four consecutive WAFCON defeats for the second time. They previously lost all three group games in 2008 and their opening match at the 2010 edition.
Cabo Verde – Key Statistics
• Cabo Verde began their debut WAFCON campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Ghana.
• Doris Boaduwaa opened the scoring for Ghana in the sixth minute before Eleia Vieira scored an own goal.
• Vieira became the first Cabo Verde player to score an own goal at the WAFCON.
• Kleydiana Borges was sent off in the defeat and became the first Cabo Verde player to receive a red card at the finals.
• Goalkeeper Jacinta Rodrigues made five saves against Ghana after facing seven shots.
• Cabo Verde managed one shot on target, attempted by Sandra Martins.
• Ivânia Moreira won 11 duels, the joint-most by a Cabo Verde player in the match.
• Moreira also won four of the five tackles she attempted.
I corrected the second-group-game totals, the winning-margin records, Aïssata Traoré’s scoring history and several player-name spellings.