Mali will once again rely on their resilience and mental toughness when they face tournament favourites Senegal in today’s Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal, after battling against the odds to reach the last eight.

The Eagles were reduced to 10 men early in their Round of 16 encounter against Tunisia in Casablanca, with defender Woyo Coulibaly sent off in the 26th minute. Despite the setback, Mali showed remarkable composure, holding Tunisia to a 1–1 draw after extra time before advancing via penalties.

Reflecting on that gruelling victory, Serie A-based midfielder Lassana Coulibaly stressed the importance of mentality as Mali prepare to take on Senegal.

“Against Tunisia, we had to show strong mentality because it was 10 against 11,” he said at the pre-match press conference.

“We’ll need the same mentality against Senegal. We’re not the favourites, but we feel we have nothing to lose. With our mental and physical strength, we believe we can win.”

Senegal, ranked second in Africa, arrive as strong contenders for the title, having already scored 10 goals at the tournament and impressed with their attacking firepower.

Despite acknowledging Senegal’s quality, Mali head coach Tom Saintfiet insists his side deserves respect.

“All eight teams in the quarterfinals are big football nations, but I believe we are playing very well,” Saintfiet said.

“Senegal are a very stable and powerful team. They score easily, don’t concede much and are extremely dangerous. But we are also a good team. We haven’t lost at this tournament and we performed well against Morocco and Tunisia, two World Cup-qualified sides.”

Mali’s path to the quarterfinals has been unusual, having drawn all three group-stage matches before edging Tunisia on penalties in the first knockout round. Despite a lack of goals, Saintfiet remains confident in his team’s approach.

“We haven’t created many chances, but we’ve played with discipline and we won’t change our style. We have players with quality and, above all, a very strong mentality,” he added.

Mali remain the only nation in the last eight without a previous AFCON title. Their best finish came in 1972 as runners-up, and they have reached the semifinals on five occasions since. Today, they will look to defy history once more against a powerful Senegal side.