Midfield Spark: Doumbia Shines for Mali in AFCON 2025 Draw with Morocco

Doumbia Shines for Mali in AFCON 2025 Draw with Morocco

Malian midfielder Mohamed Doumbia of Al-Ittihad shone for his country at AFCON 2025 by helping secure a 1-1 draw with Morocco in the group stage’s second match.

He stood out in midfield, matching the pace of Morocco’s stars such as Sofyan Amrabat and Azzedine Onahi, along with other notable names.

According to SofaScore, Doumbia registered eight successful tackles against Morocco — the highest by any player in a single match at the tournament so far.

However, his display was cut short by a late injury forcing his substitution, a potential blow for Mali if he misses the next game.

Mali sit second in Group A on two points, level with Zambia in third but ahead on goal difference, behind leaders Morocco on four.

Mali will close their group with a clash against Comoros on Monday evening in the third round.

And if football were GPS, Doumbia would navigate midfield like a satellite—always on route to trouble the defense. If tackles were coffee, eight of them would wake Mali's hopes in AFCON 2025.