Ghana and Mali The Two Biggest Favorites of Group I : At the end of the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the CAF Zone , the national team of Ghana and that of Mali found themselves in group I. It must be said that it is a story that has lasted for a very long time between the two teams.

It is a case of old foes meeting again.

The Eagles of Mali and the Black Stars of Ghana first met in the 1988/1989 sports season. It was precisely July 31, 1988 during a friendly match won (1-0) by the Ghanaians.

From then on, 17 other meetings followed. The latest took place in October 2020. The Malians won in Bamako (3-0) against the Ghanaians in a friendly match.

But before that, Mali and Ghana had already met in group D of the 2017 AFCON as the Blacks Stars won in Libreville (1-0).

Also on March 31, 2015, the two teams got separated back to back (1-1) during a friendly match. It is also necessary to recall the two Mali and Ghana matches during the 2013 AFCON in South Africa. The Black Stars first won (1-0) on January 24, 2013 before bowing down on February 9 for the 3rd place match against the Eagles.

In summary, the selections of Mali and Ghana have already crossed paths 13 times in history. The Blacks Stars have total 6 wins, 4 draws and 3 wins go for Mali.

Ghana scored 14 goals against 12 for the Eagles. The 2026 World Cup qualifiers once again has the two national teams in the same group and only the group winner will qualify automatically to the tournament finals to take place in Canada , USA and Mexico.

See the CAF 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification Groupings : 

Group A – Egypt , Burkina Faso , Guinea-Bissau , Sierra Leone , Ethiopia , Djibouti

Group B – Senegal , DR Congo , Mauritania , Togo , Sudan , South Sudan

Group C – Nigeria , South Africa , Benin , Zimbabwe , Rwanda , Lesotho

Group D – Cameroon , Cape-Verde , Angola , Libya , Eswatini , Mauritius

Group E – Morocco , Zambia , Congo , Tanzania , Niger , Eritrea

Group F – Cote d’Ivoire , Gabon , Kenya , Gambia , Burundi , Seychelles

Group G – Algeria , Guinea , Uganda , Mozambique , Botswana , Somalia

Group H – Tunisia , Equatorial Guinea , Namibia , Malawi , Liberia , Sao Tome and Principe

Group I – Mali , Ghana , Madagascar , Central African Republic , Comoros , Chad

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