Mali

Mali 2010-11 Away, match prepared?
Mali 2013-15 Away
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Considering the flag is splayed across the chest so prominently with a riot of colour to the front of the shirt, it is strange to say this will be the most boring shirt on offer here! Red trim marks the collar, sleeve cuffs and base of the shirt, while the flag weaves across the centre, broken up by slight gaps across it and the fade out of the top and bottom on each side. Logo is perhaps a bit simplistic, being a little large and perhaps basic and I don’t like the high collar, but those are minor quibbles, really.

Used in the 2010 AFCON, Mali were drawn in the hosts’ (Angola) group with Algeria and Malawi. 4-0 down in the 79^th minute to Angola, Mali managed a stunning comeback to draw the game for a dramatic tournament opening! However, a 1-0 loss to Algeria meant that their 3-1 win over Malawi wouldn’t be enough. They fell out on head-to-head conditions to the Algerians despite their joint highest goal total in the group stages.

Take the previous shirt, add in more red detail! Change the flag to a more dramatic diagonal style with a proper fade out! Have flag coloured pinstripe patterns to compliment it as well! Update the badge to make it look better, even adding in the country outline to the logo! Airness took a good effort and made it better all around. Collar remains a little strange, this time dipping a little further than expected, but the design works and that’s what matters.

The 2013 AFCON had a much less dramatic group stage for Mali. They opened with a  1-0 win over Niger, followed that up with a 1-0 loss to Ghana and then drew 1-1 with DR Congo. Here 4 points was enough to secure 2^nd place outright and send them to the knockouts where another 1-1 draw would bring them a 3-1 victory on penalties. Nigeria would humble them 4-1 in the semi-finals though, although they recovered with a 3-1 win over old foes Ghana in the 3^rd place play-off for a great finish.

Oh, ok, Mali. Just weren’t content with what you had, were you?  Now there’s the flag colours across the collar (and even inside the bottom of the shirt) along with a patterned version splaying out as the wings of a giant eagle across the front of the shirt! Have the same pattern across the top of the shirt, front and rear, to keep the interest level even higher and throw in making the FA logo golden as well. Wow, there’s a lot to this shirt and it is mostly all there, right in your face. The Eagles take their name literally.

Very similar to their 2019 design, this was used across the 2021 AFCON, which was played in 2022. They topped their group on goal difference over The Gambia, with Ibrahima Koné scoring a penalty in each match (1-0 against Tunisia, 1-1 against The Gambia, 2-0 against Mauritania) for them to progress. However, a protracted 0-0 draw against Equatorial Guinea awaited them and they would miss 3 penalties in a 6-5 loss to go out.

Less on the back of the shirt but Mali are just consistently brilliant aren’t they? Thank you, Airness. Eagle claw marks in the flag colours across the bottom of the shirt, the giant eagle returns in the centre this time with even more stylised wings and fading across the colours of the flag! The flag also makes appearances in the collar and sleeve cuffs and we stick with the gold badge. Sure, it would be hard to go wrong with a giant eagle on your shirt, but they keep getting  things very right.

Again Mali topped their AFCON group for 2023, this time with a 2-0 win over South Africa and 1-1 and 0-0 draws against Tunisia and Namibia. Less dramatic, but still progressing, they’d face a strong Burkina Faso side. Despite getting pegged back, they remained comfortable and won 2-1 to meet the hosts in the quarter-finals. Generally one of Africa’s stronger sides, these results are relatively typical of Mali. They’ve only tried qualifying for World Cups since 2002, typically putting in good performances but falling short of what’s required. AFCONs have brought much more success, albeit intermittently. They debuted in 1972, lost in the final and wouldn’t qualify again until 1994! Then they came 4^th, failed to qualify for the next 3 tournaments then came 4^th twice in a row. Thankfully, after missing another AFCON things calmed down a little, with them being at every AFCON from 2008. They even took 3^rd in consecutive AFCIONs across 2012 and 2013 but otherwise haven’t managed to replicate that success. A strong national league has led to 5 appearances from 7 CHANs, with 2 lost finals in that. However, besides 3 Amílcar Cabral Cups, they have no regional titles to their name.

Their women’s side is much less prominent, having played since 2002. They’d qualify for the first 5 WAFCONs, but struggle in all of them, grabbing only 2 wins and exiting at the group stage every time. They’d miss the next 2 tournaments, then qualify for two before missing out on 2022. A 4^th place finish in 2018 remains the only time they’ve escaped the groups and was that one match shy of the Women’s World Cup. They finished as runners-up to Senegal in the first WAFU Cup, but did not return for 2022. Inconsistent at playing the African games and Olympic qualifiers, they have a 4^th place at the African games but little else. Strong at times, they nonetheless are not one of the top sides in the continent. In men’s youth football, Mali shine. The U23s have little to their name, but did reach the 2004 Olympic quarter-finals, it is when you get younger that they show their colours. The U19s have been to 7 AFCON semi-finals, taking the 2019 titles home. From 2 corresponding U20 World Cup appearances they’ve managed two 3^rd places as well! The U17s hold 2 AFCON titles and a further 5 semi-finals, taking 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th from 6 World Cup appearances. Maybe not consistent, Mali are always a danger in men’s youth football. Semi active in U20 women’s football, Mali have never qualified for a World Cup, with a mixture of results, but generally struggling against the top sides. Their U17 team has thus far withdrawn from every tournament they’ve entered…

Mali have never tried futsal or beach soccer, perhaps preferring to focus on their strength as an 11-a-side nation.

Drawn in a reasonable group with Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda, Mali will have thought it was their time. They’d draw away in Uganda but otherwise fairly comfortably won the group, winning every other match (albeit with three 1-0 victories). This put them in a winnable play-off against Tunisia, but they’d fall agonisingly short, losing 1-0 across both legs and not quite make their first World Cup.