Coach Alaine Giresse has named a largely foreign based squad to represent Mali in the Afcon finals that kick off on January 14 in Gabon.
Mali are with Uganda, Egypt and fellow West Africans Ghana in pool D.
Giresse has not any major surprise but only dropped debutants Adama Traoré who plies his trade for TP Mazembe in the DR Congo and Portugal based youngster Falaye Sacko (Vitoria Guimaraes). Soulymane Diarra based in Hungary at Ujpest FC has also been axed from the 26-man list.
Stare Malien de Bamako custodians Djigui Diarra and Soumaïla Diakité are the only two selected from Mali’s local league. Salif Coulibaly (TP Mazembe) and Mohamed Oumar Konaté constitute the African based legion while the rest come from Europe.
Goalkeepers: Soumaila Diakité and Djigui Diarra (Stade Malien de Bamako), Oumar Sissoko (Orléans, France)
Defenders: Ousmane Coulibaly (Panathinaikos, Greece), Hamari Traore (Reims, France), Molla Wagué (Udinese, Italy), Salif Coulibaly (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Mohamed Oumar Konaté (RS Berkane, Morocco), Mahamadou N’Diaye (Troyes, France), Youssouf Koné (Lille, France)
Midfielders: Yves Bissouma (Lille, France), Mamoutou N’Diaye (Royal Antwerp, Belgium), Lassana Coulibaly (Bastia, France), Yacouba Sylla (Montpellier, France), Samba Sow (Kayserispor, Turkey), Adama Traoré (AS Monaco, France), Sambou Yatabaré (Werder Bremen, Germany)
Forwards: Moussa Marega (Vitória Guimarães, Portugal), Kalifa Coulibaly (Gent, Belgium), Moustapha Yatabaré (Karabukspor, Turkey), Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace, England), Moussa Doumbia (Rostov, Russia).