The action continues in Group I of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when Guinea-Bissau and Mali square off in the second of their October double-header on Monday.
Having prevailed when the two nations squared off in Bamako on Friday, Les Aigles will journey to the Estadio Nacional 24 de Setembro looking to make it five straight wins over the visitors.
Match preview
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Guinea-Bissau were left empty handed for the second consecutive Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Mali in the first of their two back-to-back encounters on Friday.
Following a goalless first half at the Stade du 26 Mars, Stuttgart striker El Bilal Toure broke the deadlock two minutes after the hour mark to hand the home side a deserved victory.
Before that, Guinea-Bissau kicked off their qualifying journey with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Eswatini on September 5 courtesy of a first-half strike from Bura Nogueira, five days before crashing down to earth in a 2-1 loss against Mozambique at the Estadio do Zimpeto.
Luis Boa Morte's men have now failed to win all but one of their 10 matches across all competitions this year — losing seven and claiming two draws — a run which saw them crash out of the 2023 AFCON in the group stages after losing three straight games in Group A back in January.
Despite this poor run of results, Guinea-Bissau remain on course to secure a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup as they currently sit second in Group A of the qualifiers, four points behind first-placed Egypt.
While the Djurtus will be looking to bounce back from Friday's defeat and get their qualifying journey back on track, they will need to show their mettle at the Estadio Nacional 24 de Setembro as they have lost each of their most recent four games against Mali and have failed to win any of the last 15 meetings between the two nations (12L 3D) since a 1-0 victory in February 1984.
With Friday's victory, Mali are one of 16 sides yet to taste defeat in the 2025 AFCON qualifying race and will head into Monday's clash looking to open up a five-point at the top of the Group I standings.
Tom Saintfiet's men had kicked off the campaign with a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw against Mozambique in Bamako on September 6, four days before securing a 1-0 victory over Eswatini courtesy of a seventh-minute strike from Yves Bissouma.
Mali have now gone unbeaten in six of their last seven matches across all competitions, picking up four wins and two draws while scoring eight goals and keeping five clean sheets since their 2-1 extra-time defeat against Ivory Coast in the 2023 AFCON quarter-finals back in January.
Les Aigles' only defeat in that time came on June 6, when they were beaten 2-1 by Ghana at the Stade du 26 Mars in Group I of the World Cup qualifiers, where they currently sit fourth in the table with five points from four matches.
Mali, who are currently 54th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, have picked up seven points from the first nine available in the race for a place in Morocco to sit top of the Group I table, two points above second-placed Mozambique.
Team News
© Imago
Having switched allegiance from Portugal, Everton striker Beto made his debut for Guinea-Bissau on Friday and the 26-year-old should team up with 28-year-old Mama Balde in attack once again.
Fali Cande, Sambinha, Ора Sangante and Jefferson Encada should form the defence line on Monday, while Alfa Semedo, Janio Bikel, Zidane Banjaqui and Nogueira should retain their roles in midfield.
With his winner on Friday, Toure now has eight goals in 19 senior caps since his debut in October 2020 and we expect the 23-year-old to lead Mali's attack once again.
He should be joined in Les Aigles' attack by Tottenham man Bissouma and 26-year-old Moussa Djenepo, while Aliou Dieng and Mohamed Camara should retain their roles in the centre of the park.
At the defensive end of the pitch, we should see an unchanged back three of Salim Diakite, Abdoulaye Diaby and Mamadou Fofana, with Young Africans goalkeeper Djigui Diarra starting between the sticks.
Guinea-Bissau possible starting lineup:
Embadje; Cande, Sambinha, Sangante, Encada; Semedo, Bikel, Banjaqui, Nogueira; Beto, Balde
Mali possible starting lineup:
Diarra; Diakite, Diaby, Fofana; Sinayoko, Dieng, Camara, Doucoure; Bissouma, Djenepo, Toure
We say: Guinea-Bissau 1-2 Mali
Mali extended their dominance over Guinea-Bissau with Friday's victory and will head into Monday's clash with sky-high confidence. Les Aigles' are favourites to win the tie on paper, and given the gulf in quality between the two nations, we are backing them to see off the hosts once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
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