Saintfiet singles out Zambia as hardest opponent for Mali at AFCON

Mali national team head coach Tom Saintfiet has admitted Zambia will be toughest opponent his side will face in the group stages of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

The Les Aigles have been drawn in Group A alongside the Chipolopolo, hosts Morocco, and Comoros. They will start their campaign against Zambia at Stade Mohammed V on Monday, December 22.

Speaking ahead of the opener, Saintfiet confessed Mali, who will be making their 14th appearance in the AFCON, it is never easy to play against Zambia, whom he said are regulars in the competition.

“For me probably the most difficult games in our group are the ones against Zambia and Comoros, and we need to be very focused,” Saintfiet said in an interview on ZNBC’s Radio 4 Sports Programme as quoted by Bola News.

‘Disrespecting Zambia would be very bad’

“Zambia is always at AFCON, always a strong team at AFCON. It’s never easy to play against them. They have a lot of good-quality players who can play together as a team, and for sure, because it’s the opening match, you need to be very focused because both teams would want to make a good start.”

The Belgian further warned his players against underrating the Chipolopolo. He said: “Underestimating them would be deadly; disrespecting Zambia would be very bad.

“So we need to be well prepared; we need to be focused, and our aim is to try to win the first game—three points—but I guess that Zambia has the same ambition, so we need to work very hard in the coming days when the players arrive in camp.

“Most people talk about Morocco in our group; that’s normal because Morocco is a big name, but it’s also very dangerous that people would underestimate countries like Comoros and Zambia.”

Bissouma to feature for Mali in Morocco

Saintfiet has already named a 28-man squad for the AFCON, recalling long-term absentee Yves Bissouma. The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has not featured for his club this season after being sidelined by injury, but Saintfiet opted to include the 29-year-old, underlining his importance to Mali’s midfield ahead of the tournament.

Mali will open their Group A campaign on December 22 against Zambia in Casablanca, before facing hosts Morocco and Comoros in what is expected to be one of the most competitive groups of the competition.

Full Mali squad for AFCON 2025;

Goalkeepers
• Djigui Diarra (Young Africans)
• Ismaël Diawara (Sirius)
• Mamadou Sawassa (Laval)

Defenders
• Ousmane Camara (Angers)
• Woyo Coulibaly (Sassuolo)
• Amadou Dante (Arouca)
• Abdoulaye Diaby (Grasshoppers)
• Fodé Doucouré (Le Havre)
• Mamadou Fofana (New England Revolution)
• Nathan Gassama (Baltika)
• Sikou Niakaté (Sporting Braga)
• Hamari Traoré (Paris FC)

Midfielders
• Yves Bissouma (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Mohamed Camara (Al Sadd)
• Lassana Coulibaly (Lecce)
• Aliou Dieng (Al Ahly)
• Mahamadou Doumbia (Al Ittihad)
• Amadou Haidara (RB Leipzig)
• Mamadou Sangaré (Racing Lens)
• Ibrahima Sissoko (VfL Bochum)

Forwards
• Mamadou Camara (Laval)
• Gaoussou Diakité (Lausanne Sports)
• Gaoussou Diarra (Feyenoord Rotterdam)
• Nene Dorgeles (Fenerbahçe)
• Kamory Doumbia (Stade Brestois)
• Mamadou Doumbia (Watford)
• Lassine Sinayoko (Auxerre)
• Moussa El Bilal Touré (Beşiktaş)