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The Lithuanian national team will play a friendly match against the Malian national team on February 6 in the French capital, Paris. This will be a preparation for the European Championship qualifying match against France, which will take place in Kaunas on March 24. Many Malian footballers started or continue their professional careers in French clubs.
Lithuania is currently in 5th place out of 7 teams in Group B of the qualifying tournament, having collected 4 points from 3 matches.
The last time Lithuania played against an African national team was back in 1924 in Paris, where they suffered a humiliating 0-10 defeat to Egypt. In the FIFA rankings released in December, the Lithuanian national team is ranked 69th, while the Malian team is in 36th place.
Some of the names of the football players from Mali national team should be quite familiar, as they play for top European clubs, including defender Djimi Traore ("Charlton"), midfielders Mohamed Sissoko ("Liverpool") and Mahamadou Diarra ("Real"), and forward Frederic Kanoute ("Sevilla").
