Morocco and Mali Draw 1-1 in Friendly Match

Morocco played to a 1-1 draw against Mali in a friendly match on Sunday night. The game, held at home, marked the conclusion of an international break for both teams following their African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

Morocco's Abde Ezzalzouli opened the scoring with a penalty kick ten minutes before halftime. Despite Morocco’s lead, Mali's Gaoussou Diarra equalized later in the match. Ismael Saibari, Bilal El Khannouss, Neil El Aynaoui, and Zakaria El Ouahdi, all players based in the Bundesliga, participated in the match for Morocco.

Saibari, who plays for FC Bayern, was on the field for 65 minutes. El Khannouss of Stuttgart and El Aynaoui from RB Leipzig also started, while El Ouahdi of HSV entered in the final ten minutes after playing the entire game against Lesotho.

In a separate friendly, South Africa's Ime Okon, currently with Hannover, played 45 minutes in a 1-0 victory against Egypt in Cairo. The game's only goal came from debutant Puso Dithejane, a teammate of Robert Lewandowski at Chicago Fire, early in the second half.