Mali are confident they can take the final step and capture their first African Nations Championship (CHAN) title in Algeria after coming up just short with runner-up finishes in the 2016 and 2020 editions. Coach Nouhoum Diané called in 26 players, mainly from Bamako-based top clubs like Djoliba AC, Stade Malien and the club that Diané manages, league leaders Real Bamako in the country’s Première Division. Mali are in Group D with Angola and Mauritania, a potentially difficult group where Les Aigles Locaux need to be at their best to qualify for the quarterfinals as group winners.
Diané called in ten players from Real Bamako including Hamala Diakité, a forward who has been important to the success of the club so far this season along with midfielder Makan Samabally. 20-year-old forward Ousmane Coulibaly and veteran strike partner Hamidou Sinayoko, both from Djoliba, add to a potent Malian attack that is the team’s strongest attribute with Sinayoko scoring one goal each in the 2014 and 2016 editions of the CHAN. Malian publication Journal du Mali consulted several experts on the domestic league and the consensus appears to be that the greatest concerns are in defense for the Eagles, where Diané called in three players he knows from Real Bamako to increase the defensive unit’s chemistry.
Mali will kick off their CHAN on January 16 with a crucial matchup against fellow Group D favorites Angola. More on the team is below following the list of players who Diané called into the team.
