Ghana secure narrow win against Mali for 2026 World cup qualifier to keep top spot

Ghana don bounce back from dia disappointing draw wit Chad for N'Djamena wit hard-fought 1-0 win against Mali for Accra.

Di goal from Spartak Moscow defender Alexander Djiku from one corner bin dey enough to secure all three points for di blackstars.

Di result now extend Ghana's lead for di top of Group I to 19 points from eight games (6 W, 1L, 1D).

Madagascar dey second wit 16 points, Comoros dey next wit 15 points.

Mali bin dey fourth wit 12 points wey Central African Republic get five points, Chad - di whipping boys for di group get only one point.

Ghana now dey in good position to qualify for di 2026 World cup for Mexico, US and Canada.

Bifor di game Ghana coach Otto Addo bin dey under pressure wit some fans calling for im sack afta di draw wit Chad.

Mali coach Tom Saintfiet bin tok bifor di game say im team go try to create history for Ghana but afta dis result, Mali dey all but out of qualifying for di world cup.

But for Ghana, wit dis result, coach Otto Addo dey likely to keep im job at least until di next group games for October.

Ghana go play wit Central Africa Republic away and den play di last qualifier for Accra wit Comoros between 6-14 October.

Second Half

FULLTIME!

Be like di Mali bench no happy wit di way di refree end di game.

Na so referee don blow for full time.

96" Goalkeeper Asare comot to catch one long ball.

Ghana try to manage di game now, Joseph Painstil carry di ball wey im dribble two players and pass to Kamaldeen.

90+4 Few seconds to go but Mali dey still pepper di Ghana area; di ball still dey for di Ghana area.

90+3" Mali try to create chance for dis last minute but Asare comot to punch di ball. Mali now shoot from outside di box, but e don comot.

90+2" Ghana try to move forward to create sometin wit Caleb Yirenkyi but di defender don fall for ground for di Mali corner flag wey im use im. hand touch am.

90+1" Singaare tink say im win penalty from Gideon Mensah but di ball comot di park, referee say goalkick.

Six more minutes bifor dis game go end. Ghana fit hold on for dis one like dis?

+6 mins

89" Chance! Ghana get counter wit three players, but Kamaldeen don blast di ball ova di bar.

88" Mali dey try everitin to enta di Ghana area but di blackstars bin dey defend well so far.

Afta dem treat goalkeeper Asare, di game don restart. Time still dey for Mali equalizer.

86" Chance! Mali cause wahala inside di Ghana box from di freekick wia keeper fail to catch di ball. Partey bin clear di danger bifor anytin. goalkeeper sleep for ground now. Im hurt.

85" Alex Djiku di goalscorer don comot wit injury for Jerome Opoku.

Ghana coach wan make anoda defensive change, wit Jerome Opoku.

84" Yellow card for Thomas Partey dia. Alex Djiku di goalscorer don fall for ground. Im say im hurt, medical team dey on di park.

83" Chance for Ghana but Kamaldeen afta im run almost half di park don overhit im final touch wey Mali keeper comot to clear.

81" Ghana still dey under pressure from Mali for di last 10 mins; di blackstars no fit create any beta chance.

80" Mali don make two more changes - one for defence one for attack.

79" Inaki Williams and Joseph Painstil bin dey enta di game now to replace Jordan Ayew and Mohammed Kudus.

78" Mali dey put more pressure. Ghana don shake bifor Nene Dorgeles shoot ova di bar.

77" Mali captain Dieng collect di ball from di midfield afta ref award di eagles throw-in. But di ball dey cleared by Caleb Yirenkyi.

75" Mali don hit one shot from distance thru Kyassou Diarra. Di shot dey wide.

74" Jordan don carry ball knack one Mali player im hand; ref blow for foul for di Ghana area.

Kudus don foul Mohammed Camara for di centre of di park.

73" Jonas Adjetey don clear one dangerous ball for di right side of di Ghana area afta Mali try to enta di box.

71" Semenyo don comot wey Kamaldeen Sulemana from Atalanta don enta.

70" Mali take di corner thru Nene Dorgeles. Ghana clear di ball, but di pressure still bin dey on top di blackstars.

69" Corner to MALI. But Ghana bin dey prepare to make change.

68" Mali don make anoda change, Mustapha Sangare don enta to replace Sinayoko.

67" Kudus bin dey create chance, im and Semenyo bin dey run into di Mali area; one Mali player foul am for di centre but Kudus carry on bifor im try to pass to Semenyo but di pass don hard.

66" Mali don dey force di Ghanaians into dia own half for di last few seconds. But so far dem no trouble di keeper Benjamin Asare.

63" Kudus bin dey carry di ball enta di area, im dribble wey im pass for Jordan but Mali clear am. Jordan now get di ball wey he pass to Gideon Mensah; di defender misplace di pass, but im win throw-in.

Sinayoko don head di ball from Doumbia wide off di post.

62" Gideon Mensah don lose possession afta Partey try to start one attack from di left hand side. Afta dat, Mensah don commit foul close to di Ghana area.

60" Goalkick to Ghana! Coach Otto Addo no make any changes yet.

58" Mali bin get momentum now, dem try to put pressure on di Ghana team.

57" Corner to MALI. Bifor di corner dem bin dey make changes Fode Doucoure don enta togeda wit Nene Dorgeles.

Di noise now don rise for di stadium. Mali just dey try to create sometin fast fast.

56" Corner to Ghana afta Kudus carry di ball dance enta di box. From di corner, Diarra don save di effort.

55" Mali goalkeeper Diarra don comot im area to clear one ball, di crowd begin to dey chant.

54" Kudus don foul one Mali player, wey di rplayer Kamara bin push am to di floor, but referee no take any further action.

Dis goal don change di game; Mali now begin to dey press di blackstars well well.

52" Chaaaance! Mali almost score but Sinayoko im shot dey deflected afta im turn nicely inside di box. Di Ghana defender clear dat ball.

51" From di restart, Mali try to create sometin but dia players don vex afta referee blow whistle for foul.

49" GOOOOAAAAL! Ghana don score from di corner. Alex Djiku bundle di ball into di net afta di Mali keeper don fluff im lines and Ghana lead 1-0

48" Chaaance! Caleb Yirenkyi bin hit one ball wey bin dey enta di net bifor goalkeeper Diarra punch di ball ova di bar for corner.

Mali players begin to dey press di Ghana players well well bifor Salim Diakite don foul Jordan Ayew for di centre circle.

46" Mohammed Salisu don turn im back carry clear one dangerous ball inside di Ghana box.

Mali try to start quick quick wit one attack but di ball comot di park for throw-in to Ghana.

45" Referee don blow whistle for di game to restart wit Ghana.

Players don comot for di second half. No changes so far

First Half

HALFTIME!

Big second 45 minutes dey up next. Who go score di first goal for dis game? Time go tell.

Referee don blow whistle for halftime; im no let Ghana play dia freekick serf. Di Ghana players no happy.

45" Kwasi Sibo bin lose possession again for di Ghana area but dem recover to clear di ball bifor di Real Oviedo midfielder now commit anoda foul.

Chaaaance! Seemenyo don waste di best chance of di game. Mohammed Kudus carry di ball beat players bifor im cross di low ball onto di area, di Bournemouth striker collect di ball, turn around bifor im hit di effort wide. Dat ball gat to enta di net.

44" Save! Ghana keeper Benjamin Asare don collect dat shot even tho e don trouble am small.

43" Freekick to Mali. Kwasi Sibo afta im turn around Kamoury Doumbia for midfield, try to hold di ball too much wey Doumbia collect di ball dey run into di Ghana area bifor Sibo bin foul am.

41" From di freekick, Ghana try to create chance but ref blow for foul on one Mali player.

40" Freekick to Ghan afta Kamory Doumbia foul Partey. Doumbia vex wey im throway di ball. Im escape yellow card for dia.

Mali dey try create chance but im no fit beat Jonas Adjetey for di back, di defender fall for ground wey referee blow for foul.

39" Ghana fans go hope say dia boys go get di results.

Remember say Madagascar bin win dia earlier game wit Chad by 3-1 to climb to second wit 15 points, two points behind Ghana as tins dey now.

37" Gideon Mensah don win freekick afta Sinayoko bin foul am inside di Ghana area.

36" Jordan Ayew bin hold di ball well wey im beat im man bifor im release di ball to Mensah. Di fans for di stadium don dey shout for dat skill by di Ghana captain.

34" Mali Captain Aliou Dieng don foul Ghana captain Jordan Ayew for di far left. Dis one na captains affair.

33" Gideon Mensah give di ball away afta one fine Ghana attack, instead say im go cross into di Mali box for di strikers, im go back to pass di ball wey Mali intercept am. Poor.

32" Lassana Coulibaly dey try to hustle im way into di ghana area but di defenders no dey give am chance, na so im win freekick.

30" Between Partey, Sibo and Jordan dem bin try to create chance but Mali clear dia lines.

29" Afta referee don tok to di players, di game don continue. Ghana get anoda chance to shoot, but di ball go wide for goalkick.

Mohammed Camara from MALI bin dey for ground afta Djiku don touch am inside di box bifor di corner.

Kudus bin win anoda corner afta im try to cross one low ball for di box, di Mali keeper Djigui Diarra try to stop di ball but im no fit.

27" Thomas partey neva see say im dey danger for di front of di Ghana box, na so Mali collect di ball from am but im recover for ground to spoil di chance, wey Kwasi Sibo play di ball out of danger.

26" Jonas Adjetey bin get di first yellow card afta im foul Lassine Sinayoko.

24"Chaaance! Ghana get chance to score from di corner but Salisu im header comot for goalkick.

From di freekick, Ghana now win corner. Jordan Ayew bin stand behind di ball.

23" Freekick to Ghana afta Salim Diakite bin foul Jordan Ayew for di right side of di Mali area.

22" Di players bin go short waterbreak.

Di Mali keeper Djigui Diarra bin comot to punch dat cross from Kudus.

20" Afta dat ball, Ghana bin get anoda chance to score, but Kudus im cross dey blocked.

19" Chance! Yirenkyi bin carry di ball for di right hand side of di Mali area wey im cross di ball, e don go ova Semenyo im head. Di chance don vanish

17" Mali dey try to enta di Ghana box but dem meet roadblock, afta dat Camara bin clip Kudus from di back; referee blow whistle for foul close to di halfway line.

16" Kwasi Sibo di Real Oviedo midfielder wey bin dey play im first game for Ghana bin dey share di passes for di middle of di park to start di attack for Ghana.

15" Ghana coach Otto Addo bin dey move up and down for di touchline. im vex for dat Yirenkyi ball wey im spoil.

Mali don hold Ghana so far, dem defend all di final balls from di blackstars.

13" Chance! Caleb Yirenkyi for di millionth time get chance to cross di ball but im smash di ball to throw. Disappointing.

12" Doumbia hit di ball into di wall, na so Ghana now coun ter attack thru Semenyo; im pass to Kudus.

Di Tottenham forward now wait wey im pass to Caleb Yirenkyi but di defender fail to cut di ball back to Kudus, na so di chance don vanish.

11" Ghana defender Alex Djiku bin foul Sinayoko for di edge of di Ghana box. Dangerous freekick. Mali tink say na penaly. But referee say freekick.

10" Amadou Dante don kick di ball away for throwin, bifor MALI try to enta di Ghana box thru Doumbia but Ghana block di ball.

9" Throwball for Ghana for dia own area; but di ball go straight back to MALI for midfield.

8" Niakate di defender head di ball to im keeper yet again; so far di Mali keeper don see plenty of di ball.

7" Anoda long ball ova di top from Gideon Mensah straight to di Mali keeper Djigui Diarra

6" Ghana bin dey try to combine between Yirenkyi, Partey, Kudus and Sibo but di ball neva reach di Mali area.

5" Caleb Yirenkyi don cross one long ball for di backpost but Mali keeper Djigui Diarra don catch di ball

Fans for di stadium don dey chant well well everitime di blackstars bin get di ball.

3" Kudus try to create sometin for di wings but im cross dey blocked.

Di game don hot well well. Nobody fit breathe at dis time.

2" Mali don already try to create early chance wit dia passing for di game.

1" Referee don blow whistle for game to start.

Ghana bin dey war dia all yellow jersey wit Mali wearing dia green shirt and white shorts.

Welcome everibody to dis ogbonge game between di black stars of Ghana and di eagles of Mali.

Background

Ghana coach Otto Addo don ring some changes to di blackstars team wey draw 1-1 wit Chad last week.

Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey bin dey start afta im miss dat game sake of illness.

Im dey partner Real Oviedo midfielder Kwasi Sibo for di center.

Dis na Kwasi Sibo im debut for di black stars afta im get late call-up sake of Elisha Owusu get suspension.

Alexander Djiku wey don almost sign fresh deal wit Spartak Moscow from Fenerbahce bin dey start for defence.

Antoine Semenyo and captain Jordan Ayew bin keep dia place for di line-up.

Ghana fans don enta stadium in dia numbers to support di stars against ogbonge opponent Mali.

Di fans don put pressure on top di coach afta Ghana drop points for Chad for di last minute of dat game.

Di coach go hope to keep im job by winning dis game to give Ghana more chance to qualify for di 2026 world cup.

Ghana XI: Benjamin Asare (GK); Caleb Yirenkyi, Gideon Mensah, Salisu Mohammed, Alexander Djiku, Jonas Adjetey, Kwasi Sibo, Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo, Jordan Ayew

Mali XI: Djigui Diarra (GK); Amadou Dante, Sikou Niakite, Lassana Coulibaly, Mohammed Camara, Fode Doucoure, Mamadou Fofana, Lassine Sinayoko, Salim Diakite, Kamoury Doumbia, Aliou Dieng (c)

Di Blackstars of Ghana dey face di Eagles of Mali for di second leg of dia 2026 World Cup qualifier for di Accra sports stadium Monday night.

Ghana don dey aim to return to winning form afta dia last game wit Chad wey end in 1-1 draw.

Di Blackstars win di first leg 1-2 for Bamako last year.

Currently di Blackstars dey lead di group wit 16 points only one point above Comoros wey don win dia game 2-0 against Central African Republic on Sunday.

Mali dey fourth wit 12 points from seven games.

Madagascar dey third wit 13 points wey Central African republic dey fifth wit five points.

Chad, di whipping boys for group I, dey bottom wit one point from dia game vs Ghana for N'Djamena.

Ghana dey seek to rebound from di disappointment of di Afcon to qualify for di 2026 World Cup, but afta dem drop points wit Chad, sabi pipo dey tok say dem don complicate tins for diaserf.

Wetin di coaches tok

Fans of di Blackstars don vex well well say Ghana don dash points to Chad; as dem bin dey lead 1-0 wey dem take dia leg of di gas for di Les Sao to score equalizer for di last minute of di game.

Some of di fans and sabi pipo say make dem sack di coach, if he fail to win di game against Mali.

Coach Otto Addo say e dey expect sometin different from im players.

"For dis round, I hope di players don learn from our mistake wit Chad. Di good tin be say we gat our destiny for our own hands," im tok for pre-match press conference.

"We gat to keep di pace high sake of Mali dey good shape now."

"Nobody dey underestimate Mali; everybody sabi say dem good team. We go give everytin and concentrate till di end of di game."

For coach Tom Saintfiet, di Mali team dey Ghana to win dis game.

Di former Gambia coach don send strong message to di Blackstars ahead of di game.

"At dis moment, Ghana dey good position to qualify but we go do everytin to qualify. We go cause upset."

Ghana vs Mali Team news

Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey miss di game wit Chad sake of illness.

But im train for di last three days wey di coach go hope say im go fit play.

Auxerre midfielder Elisha Owusu go miss di game due to suspension.

Ghana coach bin hand late call up for Real Oviedo midfielder Kwasi Sibo to join di team for camp.

Im dey in line to play some of di game vs Mali.

Fans go hope say Bournemouth striker Antoine Semenyo wey bin miss ogbonge chance for Chad, fit find im scoring boots togeda wit Athletic Club captain Inaki Williams.

Di Blackstars captain Jordan Ayew wey score di goal for Ghana vs Chad go dey important for dis game as well as Tottenham forward Mohammed Kudus.

For Mali, dia three players Nene Dorgeles, Kamory Doumbia and Lassana Coulibaly wey don score for dia 3-0 win vs Comoros go worry Ghana well well.

Di Eagles don show say dem be difficult team to beat; wey dem dey strong for defence.

Na dem get di defence wit di least goals for group I.

Coach Tom Saintfiet dey demand more from Doumbia and El Bilal Toure wey don show good signs.

Tottenham star Yves Bissouma dey miss di game sake of injury.

Head-to-head

Ghana and Mali don meet officially like 11 times wit di Blackstars winning six wey Mali don win three.

Out of di 11 games, Mali team don collect 13 goals.

For World Cup qualifiers, Ghana don meet Mali three times wit di Blackstars winning two wit one draw.

Dis be di form Ghana dey for di World Cup qualifiers (LWWWWD)

Dis be di form for Mali for di qualifiers (DLDDWWW)

Dis na ogbonge game for di two sides; if Mali win, dem go climb to second for di table wit 15 points, one point behind Ghana.

If Ghana win, dem go expand dia lead on top di table to 19 points.

Possible line-ups

Mali

Diarra (GK); Diakite, Niakate, Dante, Nene, Coulibaly, Dieng, Fofana, Doumbia, Traore, Sangare.

Ghana

Asare (GK); Mensah, Salisu, Djiku, Yirenkyi, Partey, Salis, Kudus, Semenyo, Paintsil, Jordan