Mali, Cabo Verde in do-or-die encounter

There will be no margin for error when Mali take on Cabo Verde in a must-win Group D encounter at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 in Morocco.

Familiar foes since the qualifiers to this WAFCON edition, both sides have tasted victory on away soil with Mali winning the first leg 1-0 in Praia before Cabo Verde turned the tables to win 4-2 in Bamako and eventually 4-3 on aggregate. A combination of seven goals.

With that victory, the island nation qualified for their first ever WAFCON. However, Mali are at the continental showpiece after CAF expanded the number of teams from 12 to 16 thanks to the latter being among the top four ranked teams not to have qualified for the tournament.

This context is not lost on Sunday’s showdown at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca.

REPORT COURTESY OF OFFICIAL CAF SITE