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The African playoffs for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers begin this week and will see Mali host Tunisia in the first leg of the tie at the Stage du 26 Mars on Friday evening.
Mali have enjoyed a stellar World Cup qualifying campaign so far. They went unbeaten in their six games, winning their group by a landslide. They then went on to the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and impressed in the group stages before their disappointing exit in the last 16.
The home nation have never qualified for the World Cup. They have, however, made major strides in the football world of late and will be looking to make their debut in Qatar this year.
Tunisia began their qualification run with three straight wins, keeping a clean sheet in each of those games. They then suffered a brief scare, playing out a goalless draw against Mauritania and then losing to Equatorial Guinea before beating Zambia 3-1 in their final group game.
The Eagles of Carthage will be targeting back-to-back World Cup appearances but will be hoping to perform better than they did in the last edition, where they exited in the group stages.
Mali vs Tunisia Head-to-Head
There have been 12 meetings between Mali and Tunisia. The hosts have won five of those games while the visitors have won one more. There has been just one draw between the two teams.
The two teams last faced off in a highly controversial AFCON group stage game earlier this year. Mali won the game 1-0.
Mali Form Guide (World Cup Qualifiers): W-W-W-W-D
Tunisia Form Guide (World Cup Qualifiers): W-L-D-W-W
Mali vs Tunisia Team News
Mali
Everton midfield enforcer Abdoulaye Doucouré has pledged his allegiance to Mali and will be looking forward to making his international debut for the nation this week alongside a couple of others.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Tunisia
Manager Jalel Kadri has named a 28-man squad very similar to the side who represented the Eagles of Carthage at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Mali vs Tunisia Predicted XI
Mali Predicted XI (4-3-3): Ibrahim Mounkoro; Massadio Haidara, Boubakar Kouyate, Mamadou Fofana, Hamari Traore; Amadou Haidara, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Yves Bissouma; Moussa Djenepo, Adama Traore, Ibrahima Kone
Tunisia Predicted XI (4-3-3): Bechir Ben Saïd; Mohamed Dräger, Dylan Bronn, Bilel Ifa, Oussama Hadadi; Ellyes Skhiri, Aïssa Laïdouni, Anis Ben Slimane; Wahbi Khazri, Seifeddine Jaziri, Youssef Msakni
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Mali vs Tunisia Prediction
Mali have been immense in their pursuit of a World Cup spot, winning five of their six games and drawing the other. They managed to keep a clean sheet in all six games while scoring 11 goals.
Tunisia have lost four of their last six games and failed to score any goals in all four games. They have failed to win back-to-back away games and could see defeat on Friday.
Prediction: Mali 1-0 Tunisia
