Mali must beat Ghana in their final Group D match on Thursday to keep their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 campaign alive.
The meeting will take place at Stade Moulay Rachid in Casablanca, Morocco, with kick-off scheduled for 22:00 French time and 20:00 in Mali. The game will be shown in France on beIN Sports Max 5 and in Mali on Canal+ Sport Afrique.
The Aigles currently sit third in Group D, behind Ghana in second place. The two teams have the same number of points, but the Black Queens are ahead on goal difference.
Ghana began the tournament with a 2-0 victory over Cape Verde before losing 1-0 to Cameroon. Mali, meanwhile, opened the competition with a 2-1 defeat by Cameroon but responded by beating Cape Verde 3-2.
That combination of results leaves Thursday’s fixture as a direct contest for progression. Birama Konate’s side must win if they are to move above Ghana and qualify for the quarter-finals. A draw or defeat would end Mali’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
The game also continues a rivalry that has featured five previous meetings at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. All of those encounters came in the group stage, with Ghana holding the advantage in the early contests.
The first three matches ended in Mali defeats: 2-0 in 2002, 1-0 in 2006 and 3-1 in 2016. Mali recorded their first victory against Ghana in the competition in 2018, winning 2-1.
Their most recent meeting ended in a 1-1 draw last year, meaning Mali will be seeking only a second Women’s Africa Cup of Nations win over the Black Queens when the teams meet in Casablanca.
With no room for error, the outcome will determine whether Mali recover from their opening loss to Cameroon or leave the tournament after the group phase. Ghana, on the other hand, know that avoiding defeat would preserve their position above the Aigles, provided the decisive group-stage calculations remain in their favour.
For Mali, the equation is straightforward: only victory will do.દાવાદ
