Morocco face Mali in a friendly at the Grand Stade de Tanger on Sunday, October 4 at 6 p.m., after separate cancellations brought the two teams together at short notice. Morocco enter the match with six points from two AFCON 2027 qualifiers, having beaten Gabon and Lesotho 2-0 while scoring four goals and conceding none. Mali have also won their opening two qualifiers, beating Cape Verde 3-1 and Liberia 1-0.
The FRMF confirmed kickoff for 6:00 p.m. local time at the Grand Stade de Tanger. The fixture was originally set to be Morocco against Ghana, but Ghana withdrew citing internal reasons, leaving the Moroccan federation to find a replacement opponent. Mali stepped in after its own scheduled friendly against Tunisia was cancelled, giving both nations a fresh match to fill the gap left by separate cancellations.
Mali steps in for Tangier after Ghana’s withdrawal and Tunisia’s cancelled friendly leave both nations searching for opponents.
Morocco beat Gabon 2-0 in Rabat on September 25, with goals from Noussair Mazraoui and Soufiane Rahimi, before defeating Lesotho 2-0 in Bloemfontein on September 29. Those results left the Atlas Lions top of Group A after two rounds, having scored four goals while conceding none.
Mali opened their AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign with a 3-1 win over Cape Verde in Bamako on September 25, with Nene Dorgeles scoring twice, before beating Liberia 1-0 four days later. Les Aigles have therefore scored four goals and conceded one across their opening two Group K matches. Morocco have also scored four, while keeping clean sheets against both Gabon and Lesotho.
Noussair Mazraoui will not feature against Mali after being rested from group training and returning to Manchester United ahead of the friendly.
For Mali, the Tangier fixture became a newly confirmed opportunity after losing its own scheduled October 3 friendly against Tunisia.
Morocco and Mali sit in separate qualifying groups, so Sunday’s meeting cannot serve as a direct measuring stick for AFCON prospects. It instead offers a form check for both sides ahead of the next international window.
Get the Atlas Lions Weekly
The biggest Morocco football stories, player updates and analysis—delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
