My team told me there was a fault with Ghanaâ??s goal â?? Mali coach Tom Saintfiet

Mali head coach Tom Saintfiet has suggested Ghana’s decisive goal in Monday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier may have been preceded by a foul.

Ghana claimed a 1-0 win at the Accra Sports Stadium courtesy of Alexander Djiku’s 49th-minute strike after Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra failed to deal with Jordan Ayew’s corner.

The result keeps the Black Stars top of Group I on 19 points, three clear of second-placed Comoros, with two rounds of qualifiers left.

Speaking after the game, Saintfiet admitted he did not clearly see the incident but was informed by his players that Mali were unfairly penalised in the buildup.

“In the second half, our plan, like I said, was step by step building up the pressure, and then we conceded the goal much too early. I have to see it again. According to the people around me, the players, it happened after a fault just before the corner,” he said.

“Mohamed Kamara gets pushed, that’s what they say. I didn’t see it. And then with the corner, I hear that my goalkeeper also got pushed. But again, I didn’t see it. That went too fast for me, and I didn’t see any TV coverage. So I don’t want to make any excuses for some things that happened.”

Mali’s defeat leaves them fourth in the standings on 12 points, four adrift of Madagascar, who beat Chad 3-1 to stay in contention.

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