AFCON 2025: Chelle's successor reveals secret to stopping mighty Senegal

Mali head coach Tom Saintfiet has revealed the key ingredients his side will rely on as they prepare to face tournament heavyweights Senegal in the AFCON 2025 quarter-finals.

The Belgian-born tactician, who succeeded Eric Chelle at the helm of the Eagles, believes mentality and discipline could be decisive against one of Africa’s most feared teams.

Mali arrive at the last eight battle-hardened after a dramatic Round of 16 clash against Tunisia, where they played over 90 minutes with 10 men following Woyo Coulibaly’s early red card.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Eagles held firm to force a 1–1 draw after extra time before winning on penalties.

Midfielder Lassana Coulibaly insists that resilience will again be crucial against Senegal. “Against Tunisia we needed to show strong mentality as it was 10 against 11,” the Serie A-based midfielder said. “We will need the same mentality against Senegal. We want to progress and we feel we have nothing to lose.”

Acknowledging Senegal’s status as favourites, Coulibaly added: “We are not the favourites but with our mental, physical strength we feel we can win.”

Senegal, Africa’s second-ranked side, have scored 10 goals at AFCON 2025 and are widely tipped to reach the semi-finals. However, Saintfiet believes Mali have what it takes to compete.

“The eight teams who have qualified for the quarters are all the big footballing countries in Africa but I think we are playing the best,” he said.

Praising Senegal’s pedigree, he added: “It’s a stable team but also very strong, who score easily and are very dangerous.”

Still, Saintfiet remains defiant. “We haven’t lost at this tournament, and we played well against Morocco and Tunisia,” he said, adding that Mali will stick to their disciplined approach as they chase a historic breakthrough, having never won the AFCON.