AFCON 2015: Mali & Guinea enter draw for knockout spot
Mali and Guinea will enter a draw to see who moves into the quarterfinals of the 2015 African Cup of Nations after their final Group D match ended 1-1 at the Estadio De Mongomo on Wednesday night.
The result combined with Cote d’Ivoire’s 1-0 win over Cameroon in the other group game sees Mali and Guinea finished joint second and on the same goal difference which means CAf will conduct a draw tomorrow to see who goes through to the quarterfinals.
Cote d’Ivoire topped Group D while Cameroon finished bottom.
Mali came out the blocks firing with Abdoulaye Diaby driving into the box as early as the second minute, but he saw his 16-yard effort skim the wrong side of the crossbar.
Four minutes later Diaby was in the thick of the action again when he pounced on a loose ball inside the Guinea box following a goalmouth scramble, but his six-yard shot was deflected inches wide.
Guinea came into the game in the 13th minute when the referee awarded them a penalty for a handball inside the box by Mali’s Salif Coulibaly.
Kevin Constant stepped up to give his side the lead form the spot in the 15th minute, 1-0.
A minute later Mali were afforded the perfect opportunity to pull a goal back when the referee awarded a second penalty, this time adjudging Baissama Sankoh to have handled the ball inside the Guinea box.
Seydou Keita stepped up for Mail, but saw his penalty saved by Naby Yattara.
The Guinea keeper was at his best again in the 34th minute when he produced a great acrobatic save to tip a 30-yard pile-driver from Diaby over the crossbar.
The half ended 1-0 in favour of Guinea.
Mali drew level two minutes into the second half when a right wing cross from Diaby was headed home by Modibo Maiga, 1-1.
Only the brilliance of the Guinea keeper kept the scores level in the 53rd minute when a fingertip save from Naby Yattara saw him deny Mamoutou N'Diaye from 22-yards out.
Readers Comment
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anokwale
9 years ago
Frankly speaking, Guinea deserves to go through. They showed more determination than any team in their group.
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Amoration
9 years ago
Please,please CAF don't give us Mali.
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Kofi
9 years ago
Wow, a draw to decide who goes the knockout stage, really? CAF officials could not come up with better rules? This is a disgrace to African football... They should not kicked penalties if they are level on points and goals difference, very simple! I suggest both teams reject any results from the draw.
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Kofi
9 years ago
Wow, a draw to decide who goes to the knockout stage, really? CAF officials could not come up with better rules? This is a disgrace to African football... The teams should have kicked penalties if they are level on points and goals difference, very simple! I suggest both teams should not accept any results from the draw.
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Kofi
9 years ago
Wow, a draw to decide who goes to the knockout stage, really? CAF officials could not come up with better rules? This is a disgrace to African football... They should have kicked penalties if they are level on points and goals difference, very simple! I suggest both teams reject any results from the draw.
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sSam
9 years ago
Yes Kofi, you are 100% right. CAF officials are stupid for coming up with such a senseless rule. They should not accept any results from the so-called draw!
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Ghman
9 years ago
Actually, this is not fair to either team. Caf should have decided on penalties, but hey that is African football for you - the rules are different!
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anokwale
9 years ago
These have been the rules for a long time. However, I think that they could institute a new rule where in a deadlock like this, the teams can play another thirty minutes with a golden goal rule.
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Ghana is my land
9 years ago
they loose money when they let them play again,thats why they dont want a rematch
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Watataman
9 years ago
African leaders must learn to also take responsibility and initiate something for the first time than to always wait for the west to do it. This is an opportunity for Africans to also do something and have a say in a system that is unfair to soccer fans. Please bring the teams to come and shoot penalties to decide who goes through asap.
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TrueGhanaian
9 years ago
why not play penalties if they are tied?simple
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