Mali vs Eswatini Prediction: I believe the hosts will get a halftime victory here

Mali will play their eighth consecutive AFCON Tournament following their unbeaten run in the league, and they’ll face off against Eswatini in the final home match of the group in an attempt to maintain their spot on the log. 

FIFA World ranking: 54th

Last five games: DWWDW

The Eagles pulled off a slim victory over Mozambique on the road to retain the top spot on the log. Kamory Doumbia's only goal in the 19th minute was all required to secure the maximum points in a needless game. Mali showed grit and determination to end the group undefeated as they extended their run to six in all competitions. 

Mali have really given their best performance in all their games in this qualifying campaign. They conceded just one goal, winning three out of five combined games. 

Mali have garnered eleven points from a possible fifteen and have scored four while conceding once in this group. 

FIFA Ranking: 160th

Last five games: LLDLD

The King's Shield picked up their second point in the group as they held Guinea Bissau to a share of the spoils. After defending for almost the entire time in the game, Eswatini were awarded a penalty kick in the 81st minute to take the lead; however, Guinea Bissau responded seven minutes later to split points. 

Eswatini were lucky to have split points on the road as they were the second-best in the encounter. The guests have lost three and drawn twice over their previous five group matches, scoring twice and conceding seven. 

Eswatini are yet to grace the AFCON tournament in their history and they’ll have to do better next time. 

Eswatini's last win since 2018 came against Somalia in the preliminary round of this tournament. They have struggled to convert their chances lately but have at least tidied up their defence a bit. On the other hand, Mali are the best team in this group, and they’re in high spirits coming here after their win over Mozambique a few days ago.

The Eagles might not feature all their key players in this dead rubber fixture; regardless of who plays, they are better than their guests. 

I want to trust Mali with a halftime victory here since they’ll play in front of their home supporters.

A total of under 2.5 goals might surface here for 1.76.

Good luck!