Afcon 2021: Tunisia vs Mali Preview - Kick-off time, TV channel, squad news

Tunisia will face Mali in their opening Group F fixture of the Africa Cup of Nations at Limbe Omnisport Stadium on Wednesday.

The Eagles of Carthage will make their 15th consecutive but 20th overall appearance at the competition and will also try to better their display from the last edition in 2019 in Egypt where they lost 1-0 against Senegal in the semi-finals.

Tunisia’s biggest success in the tournament came in 2004 when as hosts they reached the final for the third time and were victorious, after defeating Morocco 2-1 courtesy of goals from Francileudo Santos and Ziad Jaziri.

Meanwhile, Les Aigles will be taking part in their eighth consecutive finals in Cameroon and will also strive to better their performance from the last edition.

In Egypt, Mali were eliminated by Ivory Coast in the Round of 16 after a 1-0 defeat but in their debut at 1972 Afcon, they finished runners-up behind DR Congo, their greatest feat up to date.

Mali hosted the 23rd edition in 2002; the only time they have hosted the tournament thus far but they finished fourth overall with Cameroon emerging winners after beating Senegal 3-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in regulation time.

While Tunisia qualified for the 2021 edition as group winners with 16 points from six matches alongside Equatorial Guinea, who came second, Mali also reached the Cameroon edition as group winners with 13 points from six matches alongside second-placed Guinea.

TV Channel, Live Score & How To Watch

Squads & Team News

Tunisia camp have reported no injury concerns heading into the fixture with midfielder Ellyes Skhiri declared fit and available after picking up an injury last month.

Another player who will be available for the Eagles of Carthage is Youssef Al-Masakani, who had tested positive for Covid-19 before the team arrived in Cameroon, but he has now recovered after testing negative and linked up with the squad in Limbe.

Meanwhile, Mali have not reported any injury concerns or Covid-19 related issues ahead of the opening fixture in Limbe.

Match Preview

Mali are so far unbeaten against Tunisia at Afcon as they have met twice previously, and each time it was in the group phase.

The first meeting saw Les Aigles emerge 2-0 winners in 1994 before a 1-1 draw in 2019.

This will be Tunisia’s 20th participation in the competition, and their 15th in a row, the latter being a new record in the history of the tournament.

The Eagles of Carthage last won their only Afcon title to date in 2004, as hosts; and since then, they’ve progressed past the quarter-finals only once, in 2019.

Meanwhile, this will be Mali’s 12th participation in the Afcon; only Senegal (60, prior to 2021) have played more games than Mali (50) in the tournament without ever winning the trophy.

Mali have never lost their opening game in the tournament, winning six and drawing five and since 2010, no team has scored more goals from outside the box than Mali (nine, out of a total of 30 goals).

In fact, five of Mali’s last seven goals have been scored from distance.