Iran vs Mali Prediction

Iran’s most recent official fixture took place on , when they claimed a 3-1 victory over Gambia in a friendly. That match was also held in Turkey.

Here’s a look at the key stats from the game (Iran vs Gambia):

• corners: 3 vs 8;
• yellow cards: 1 vs 1.

Iran were among the first teams to secure their spot at the World Cup, clinching qualification as early as March 2025. The team suffered just one defeat during the campaign, falling 0-1 to Qatar in a match that had no impact on their standing. Throughout qualifying, Iran displayed consistent attacking form, averaging 1.9 goals scored per game while conceding just 0.8.

Since last autumn, Iran have only featured in friendly fixtures, playing seven matches and losing just twice in regular time-to Russia (1-2) and Nigeria (1-2). They also recorded convincing wins against Costa Rica (5-0), Tanzania (2-0), and Gambia (3-1).

Notably, Iran’s pre-World Cup friendlies in their last two tournament cycles have rarely produced high-scoring affairs-six out of seven matches immediately before the start of the World Cup since 2014 have seen no more than two goals combined.

Mali last played an official match on , battling to a goalless draw against Russia in a friendly.

The key stats from that game (Mali vs Russia) were as follows:

• Possession: 37% vs 63%;
• Corners: 5 vs 8;
• Fouls committed: 11 vs 9;
• Yellow cards: 2 vs 2;
• Shots on target: 2 vs 7.

Mali find themselves in an intriguing position-the national team have now gone seven straight matches without a win in regular time. Yet, over their last nine fixtures, the Africans have suffered defeat in regulation just once. Across a ten-game span, Mali average just 0.9 goals scored per match while conceding 0.6-numbers that hardly inspire confidence.

In friendlies over the past year, aside from their clash in Russia, Mali have played out a goalless draw with Jordan (0-0) and suffered a 1-0 defeat to DR Congo. That’s 270 minutes of friendly football without a single goal scored by Mali.