Mali become the third African side to reach FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017

Orlando Luis Secali of Angola challenged by Fode Konate of Mali during the 2017 Under 17 Africa Cup of Nations Finals football match between Mali and Angola.

Mali cemented their place in the semifinals of the 2017 U17 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Angola 6-1 in a Group B match at the Stade de l’Amitié Sino in Libreville on Sunday night.The win sees Mali top Group B with seven points from three matches after previously beating Niger 2-1 and a goalless draw against Tanzania. With this win Mali become the third African side to reach FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017.

Angola, on the other hand, exit in the tournament in disappointing fashion and at the bottom of Group B with only a single point to their name thanks to a 2-2 draw against Niger.

Mali made their intentions clear early on and opened the scoring in the second minute courtesy of a strike from Seme Camara, 1-0. Mali then doubled their lead in the 14th minute after some good work in the middle of the park resulted in Hadji Drame finding the back of the net, 2-0. Mali confirmed their dominance over Angola four minutes before half time when Lassana N’Diaye scored the third goal of the game, 3-0.

The second half started a little slowly, but Mali soon found their footing and scored their fourth goal in the 74th minute courtesy of Hadji Drame, his second of the game making it 4-0. Lassana N’Diaye also scored his second goal of the game in the 77th minute to confirm Mali’s superiority on the night, 5-0. The icing on the cake was Mali’s sixth goal in the 80th minute, 6-0.

Angola threw players forward in the final few minutes in search of some consolation and were able to find a goal in the 84th minute but it was too little too late, 6-1. Mali will now take on Guinea, who finished second in Group A, in the U17 Afcon semifinals on Wednesday, May 24.

Mali achievements in FIFA under 17 World Cup

2015 Runners-up

Ghana qualified for U-17 World Cup : U-17 World Cup Qualified team