Mali to face Morocco in friendly after Tunisia and Ghana matches cancelled

Mali will play Morocco in an international friendly on Sunday, 4 October 2026, the Mali Football Federation has announced.

The match will take place at the Grand Stade de Tanger in Morocco, before the current international break ends.

Mali’s fixture was arranged after their planned friendly against Tunisia was cancelled, while Ghana withdrew from their scheduled meeting with Morocco.

The game will form part of both teams’ preparations for their upcoming international commitments.

Morocco had been due to play Ghana on 4 October, but reports in the Moroccan media said Ghana’s players refused to travel for the match.

According to Moroccan website Hesp​ort, Ghana informed Morocco that it would not fulfil the fixture because of an internal dispute involving outstanding payments owed to members of the national team.

The reports said several Ghana players declined to make the journey to Morocco, leaving the match in doubt only days before it was due to take place.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation had started considering possible alternatives in case Ghana were unable to travel to Tangier. Mali were subsequently confirmed as Morocco’s opponents.

Morocco began their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Lesotho in the second round of Group A.

That match was played at Free State Stadium in South Africa.