Mali midfielder Kamory Doumbia has continued his strong start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers by providing his second assist in as many matches.
The Stade Brestois attacking midfielder created the winning goal in Mali’s 1-0 victory over Liberia, keeping him among the leading assist providers after the opening two matchdays.
Doumbia set up Ange Tia for the decisive goal in the 79th minute as Mali secured another important victory in their qualifying campaign.
The 24-year-old was replaced by Lasana Coulibaly only three minutes after providing the assist. His performance earned him a rating of 6.8 from Sofascore.
Doumbia had also registered an assist in Mali’s opening qualifier, a 3-1 victory against Cape Verde. His latest contribution means he has now created goals in both of Mali’s matches during the first two rounds of the qualifiers.
The Malian is listed second among the leading assist providers in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, according to Sofascore, although the ranking information provided lists South Africa’s Oswin Appollis at the top with three assists.
Doumbia is level on one assist with a group of players from several other countries, including Morocco, Mozambique, DR Congo, Egypt, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Rwanda and Nigeria.
Doumbia continues to influence Mali’s attack
The Brest midfielder has played an important role in Mali’s attacking output during the opening stages of the qualifying campaign.
His contribution against Liberia came late in the match, with the winning goal arriving in the 79th minute.
Rather than remaining on the pitch until the final whistle, Doumbia was substituted shortly afterwards, with Coulibaly taking his place.
The result gave Mali another positive result after their opening victory over Cape Verde.
Doumbia’s international record also underlines his experience with the Mali national team. He has won 32 caps and scored 14 goals for the Malian Eagles.
His two assists in the opening two matchdays have now placed him among the players making the biggest creative impact in the early stages of the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign.
South Africa’s Appollis remains ahead of him in the assist standings, having recorded three assists.
Behind Appollis, Doumbia shares the next position with a number of players who have each registered one assist.
The list includes Morocco defender Nayef Aguerd, Mozambique’s Ricardo Guimaraes, DR Congo forward Yoane Wissa, Egypt duo Marwan Attia and Emam Ashour, Algeria’s Ibrahim Maza, Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessié, Rwanda’s Leroy-Jacques Mickels and Nigeria midfielder Alex Iwobi.
With two matchdays completed, Doumbia’s back-to-back assists have established him as one of Mali’s main creative players in the qualifiers.
The Brest midfielder will now look to maintain that influence as Mali continue their campaign for a place at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
