Upcoming Friendly Match: Morocco vs Mali
The Moroccan national football team is set to face Mali in a friendly match this coming Sunday evening at the Grand Stadium in Tangier. This match was unexpectedly added to the schedule after Ghana withdrew from the originally planned game, which was also supposed to take place at the same time and venue. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has confirmed that Mali will replace Ghana for this encounter, following Ghana's notification of their withdrawal due to 'internal reasons'. Meanwhile, Mali found themselves without a match as their friendly against Tunisia was also canceled.
Scheduled for Sunday, October 4th, the match will kick off at 6 PM Moroccan time at the Grand Stadium of Tangier. The Moroccan national team arrived in Tangier on Friday evening after completing their final training session at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Maamora. This match marks the conclusion of the international break, during which Morocco has already secured two consecutive victories in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, defeating Gabon and Lesotho, both with a score of 2-0. This success has set a positive tone for their qualifying campaign.
National coach Mohammed Wahbi plans to utilize this friendly match to assess several players and gauge their readiness, especially given the non-competitive nature of the encounter. It serves as an opportunity for some players to showcase their capabilities and potentially earn a place in the national squad. Wahbi has been diligently preparing for this match during recent training sessions before the team’s move to Tangier.
On the other hand, the Mali national team approaches this match with high spirits, having achieved positive results in their opening matches of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. They recorded a victory against Cape Verde with a score of 3-1, followed by a narrow win over Liberia at 1-0, as reported by various Moroccan sports media outlets.
This friendly also carries special significance considering the last encounter between the two teams during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations held in Morocco, which ended in a 1-1 draw, interrupting a streak of consecutive wins for Morocco. This upcoming match will mark the 19th meeting between the two nations, with Morocco historically holding the advantage with nine wins compared to Mali’s four victories, and four matches ending in a draw.
The Moroccan national team will, however, be without the services of Noussair Mazraoui for this match, as he has left the training camp to return to his club, Manchester United, following an injury sustained during the Lesotho game. The federation confirmed that he did not participate in the final training session before leaving the camp on Friday.
Fans can catch the live broadcast of the Morocco vs Mali match, scheduled for Sunday, October 4, 2026, at the Grand Stadium of Tangier through Moroccan sports channels Arryadia and Al Aoula, as well as beIN Sports 6, ensuring that supporters can follow this friendly encounter starting at 6 PM Moroccan time.
As reported by alayam24.com.
