Tunisia vs Mali Prediction & Betting Tips

Form: Tunisia's tough run, Mali's steady draws

Tunisia's last 20 matches make grim reading on paper: just 4 wins, 6 draws and 10 losses, with 37 goals conceded. A number of those defeats came against strong opposition in World Cup and friendly fixtures, including a 0-4 loss to Japan, a 0-5 defeat to Belgium and a 1-3 loss to the Netherlands, so it isn't simply a case of struggling against weaker sides.

Tunisia: 20 completed matches; Mali: 15 completed matches.

Tunisia

20 matches

Win

20% 4 / 20

Draw

30% 6 / 20

Loss

50% 10 / 20

Scored

20

Conceded

37

Difference

-17

Mali

15 matches

Win

26.7% 4 / 15

Draw

53.3% 8 / 15

Loss

20% 3 / 15

Scored

13

Conceded

8

Difference

+5

Mali's sample tells a different story. In their last 15 games they've lost only 3 times, though they've also won just 4, with 8 draws filling the rest. Their defence has been far tighter, conceding just 8 goals across that run, including a comfortable 6-0 win over Eswatini.

Mali's tighter defensive record stands out, even allowing for the calibre of opposition Tunisia have faced.

Comparative Team Statistics: Tunisia vs Mali

Head-to-head: rarely settled

These sides have met eight times in the available history, stretching back to 2016, and draws have been common. Four of those eight games finished level, including their most recent meeting in January 2026 at the Africa Cup of Nations, which ended 1-1.

Only one of the eight matches has been decided by more than a single goal, so the history points towards a tight contest rather than anything one-sided.

Team news: one disciplinary note

There isn't much squad information to go on here, but Tunisia's Ismaël Gharbi has picked up 3 yellow cards in his last 4 appearances, a rate worth keeping in mind if he features again.

Tunisia:

Penalty cards:

Ismaël Gharbi x 1 x 3

Beyond that, no further team news is available for either side ahead of this one.

How this one might play out

Given Mali's defensive solidity and the history of tight, low-scoring meetings between these two, a cagey affair looks plausible.

Tunisia's home form hasn't been great lately, but their heaviest losses have mostly come against clearly stronger sides than Mali, so this fixture doesn't automatically suggest another rout.