On the heels of their Friday victory over Libya, Tunisia welcomes Mali to the Stade Olympique de rates on Tuesday for their second-leg World Cup qualification playoff tie with kickoff at 10:30 pm.
Tunisia continued to build momentum in their bid for World Cup qualification on Friday when they claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mali in the first leg of their quarter-final.
After receiving a second yellow card, defender Moussa Sissako scored in the 36th minute with a powerful header and received a straight red card four minutes later.
This followed a quarter-final exit from the Africa Cup of Nations on January 29, when they were beaten 1-0 by Burkina Faso courtesy of Dango Ouattara’s first-half strike.
Buerte Tunisia—which means ‘sure victory’, in Tunisian dialect, since the team won on Friday against Algeria. They will be confident of completing the job, returning to their native soil where they are currently on a four-game winning streak, scoring ten goals and conceding one since a 2-0 friendly defeat against Algeria back in June 2021.
Meanwhile, Friday’s loss to Algeria also had a major impact on the chances of Mali, who are currently seeking their first FIFA World Cup appearance and are in Group C alongside the Algerians, Guinea, Liberia and Cape Verde.
Tunisia vs Mali Head to Head
Both sides have seven games against each other, with each team taking three wins and one draw. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Mali 0-1 Tunisia
- Burkina Faso 1-0 Tunisia
- Nigeria 0-1 Tunisia
- Gambia 1-0 Tunisia
- Tunisia 4-0 Mauritania
Away
- Mali 0-1 Tunisia
- Mali 0-0 Equatorial Guinea
- Equatorial Guinea 0-2 Mali
- Gambia 1-1 Mali
- Tunisia 0-1 Mali
Tunisia Team News
Following Friday’s victory, Jalel Kadri has been named the new manager of Tunisia following the nation’s quarter-final exit at the Africa Cup of Nations. Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri could feature in that game.
Mali Team News
Mali will be without the services of Sissako after the 21-year-old defender received his marching orders in Friday’s reverse leg. Mamadou Fofana should come into the fold in his absence, forming the backline with Massadio Haidara, Boubakar Kouyate and Cheik Traore. Captain Mounkoro will marshal ibrahim Mounkoro in goal.
Prediction and Odds
While we expect Mali to put up a strong fight, we predict the Carthage Eagles will hold out for a share of the spoils and win the tie on aggregate.
- Draw
- Double Chance
- Goals Under 2.5
