AFCON 2025: Mali vs Tunisia preview, prediction, team news, and head-to-head

Tunisia will hope to advance to the next phase of the competition following the early exit at the last AFCON edition, while Mali must win their first match of this campaign if they wish to qualify for the next round.

Mali finished second in Group A to progress to the knockout stages, despite not winning a single game yet. They drew all their group stage matches to ensure they do not experience an early exit at the tournament.

The Eagles' first match against Zambia ended in a 1-1 draw before settling for another 1-1 draw against the host Morocco in match day 2. Their third group stage fixture against Comoros also ended in a goalless draw.

However, there is no room for a draw for Tom Saintfiet's men at the knockout phase. Mali must either win within regular time and extra time or face their opponents in a penalty shootout to progress to the next round.

Meanwhile, Tunisia progressed to the round of 16 after finishing second in Group C, behind Nigeria. The Eagles of Carthage started their AFCON campaign with a 3-1 statement win against Uganda.

However, they lost 3-2 to Nigeria, and Tanzania held them to a 1-1 draw, making the North African team finish the group with 4 points.

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The results in the last 10 meetings between Mali and Tunisia have been tightly contested. The Eagles were victorious on 4 occasions, with the North African team winning 3 (D3).

However, their last two matches ended in 1-1 and 0-0 draws. It's important to note that the Malian coach Tom Saintfiet is no stranger to facing Tunisia, as he has done so previously with Gambia and Togo.

The Malian manager will be without Amadou Haidara for this fixture after the midfielder picked up a red card against Comoros. This might be a little setback for the Eagles, especially as the coach will be looking for a good replacement to hold the midfield.

For Tunisia, Sami Trabelsi has a solid squad at almost full strength to face Mali in this round of 16 clash. The only fitness concern centers around Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, who collided with the Super Eagles keeper, Nwabali, to hurt his knee.

Mali (4-5-1): Diarra; W. Coulibaly, Diaby, O. Camara, Gassama; Dieng, Doumbia, L.Coulibaly, Sangare, Bissouma; Sinayoko

Tunisia (4-3-3): Dahmen; Abdi, Talbi, Bronn, Valery; Skhiri, Gharbi, Mejbri; Achouri, Tounekti, Mastouri

The match between Mali and Tunisia is always tight-fisted, and this fixture will be no exception. If you are betting on Livescorebet, consider betting on Mali to advance even though the match may enter extra time.

Full-time prediction: Mali 1-1 Tunisia

• Bet on under 2.5 goals

• Team to qualify - Mali