Mali has submitted a strong 23-man squad ahead of the 2017 African of Nations slated to be staged in Gabon.
The squad is largely dominated by players plying their trades outside the shores of the country, with only two locally based players named in Alain Giresse’s team for the tournament.
The ‘Eagles’ are seeking to make a case after bowing out from the previous competition in the group stage.
Mali will face Burkina Faso in a preparatory match in Morocco on Saturday before taking on a select side on January 10 to fine tune ahead of the tournament.
They will however land in Gabon on the 14th and open their group stage account with Egypt, followed by Ghana and then squares it out with Uganda.
The 23-man squad
Goalkeepers:
Soumaila Diakité and Djigui Diarra (Stade Malien de Bamako), Oumar Sissoko (Orléans, France)
Defenders:
Ousmane Coulibaly (Panathinaikos, Greece), Hamari Traore (Reims, France), Molla Wagué (Udinese, Italy), Salif Coulibaly (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Mohamed Oumar Konaté (RS Berkane, Morocco), Mahamadou N’Diaye (Troyes, France), Youssouf Koné (Lille, France)
Midfielders:
Yves Bissouma (Lille, France), Mamoutou N’Diaye (Royal Antwerp, Belgium), Lassana Coulibaly (Bastia, France), Yacouba Sylla (Montpellier, France), Samba Sow (Kayserispor, Turkey), Adama Traoré (AS Monaco, France), Sambou Yatabaré (Werder Bremen, Germany)
Forwards:
Moussa Marega (Vitória Guimarães, Portugal), Kalifa Coulibaly (Gent, Belgium), Moustapha Yatabaré (Karabukspor, Turkey), Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace, England), Moussa Doumbia (Rostov, Russia).
