The two sides settled for a goalless draw against each other when they last met in the group stages but the Africans were clearly the better side throughout the match. However, Mali have not lost a match in this year’s tournament and will be looking to proceed with their good run by whizzing past the Central Americans. The Red Devils, who beat Costa Rica by a solitary goal in the quarter finals, are the only European side in the last four teams in the competition.
Speaking to FIFA ahead of the crunch tie, the Aiglonnets manager Baye Ba attributed his team’s success to their long partnership and hard work.
“The Germany team that won the World Cup in Brazil was the Mesut Ozil generation, which had spent several years together. That’s the model that inspired us: bringing a group of players together for a period of time until they start maturing,’’ he explained.
He added, “Over the last couple of years, we’ve been organising a lot of get-togethers and competitions with the U-17s, which have allowed us to pick the best and most effective players.''
“Before, there was a tendency among young players to get a bit distracted, while the coaches had performance-related contracts and were sacked if results weren’t up to scratch. Now we’ve got long-term contracts in place, which gives us a bit more peace of mind.’’
On which online or TV channel can I watch Mali vs Belgium live?
- USA: on various channels (view our TV guide for more info)
- Canada: on TSN5
- UK: on British EuroSport 1
Watch Mali u17 vs Belgium u17 live on NBC Deportes En Vivo Extra or Fox Soccer 2GO USA at 15:00 EST in the USA. In Canada, tune in to TSN5 at 15:00 EST to watch the two rivals fight for the coveted trophy. In the UK, follow the action live on British EuroSport 1 at 20:00 GMT on November 5, 2015. However, if you live outside of these three countries, check our live broadcast page for additional broadcast information for your specific country.
NOTE: Live broadcast data is subject to change
Form guide for the last five matches
Mali: DWWWW
Belgium: DWLWW
Head to head
- The two sides have only met once in this year’s competition.
- The match ended in a goalless draw.
Quick facts
- Mali’s longest winning run is four matches compared to Belgium's two
- Mali have managed to keep four clean sheets compared to Belgium's three
- The Africans have scored an average of 1.8 goals in the competition compared to the Central Americans’ average of one goal
- Mali’s biggest win in the competition is 3-0 compared to Belgium’s 2-0
- So far, the two sides have not scored any penalty goals in the competition
- Sidiki Maiga is Mali’s top scorer with two goals
- Belgium’s leading top scorer is Jorn Van Camp with two goals
Probable lineups
Mali: Diarra, Fofana, Dante, Diakite, Sangare, Simpara, Haidara, Malle, Koita, Maiga, Traore
Belgium: Teunckens, Janssens, Seigers, Delorge, Faes, Thuys, Azzaoui, Ademoglu, Rigo, Vanzeir, Vaerenbergh
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
