Mali has overpowered Cameroon at the Under 17 Africa Cup of Nations in Annaba, Algeria in a 2-0 late win to qualify for the quarterfinals of the competition.
Cameroon in group C with just three teams has Burkina Faso to take-on on Sunday May 7 in a must win game in order to move forward in the competition.
Mali has completed top of group C with six points after beating Burkina Faso 1-0 in their first outing and now Cameroon in their second and last group encounter.
Cameroon must win Burkina Faso who are best losers so far in order to secure a position in the quarterfinals.
The Cameroon Mali Encounter
The game at the Annaba Omnisports Stadium in Algeria began with both teams showing skill in tactics and form.
Cameroon’s first attempt at the goal post came at the seventh minute of play by Harouna Djibirin, missing by inches.
A 15th minute corner kick in favour of Cameroon was poorly executed making the cadet lions lose another scoring chance.
Mali’s Moussa Massire Diop retaliated with a sharp shot which almost got the back of the net of the lions.
With the game building up much with intensity, a couple of yellow cards were dished out before the end of the first half.
Mali proved to be a more tactical side in the second half getting most of their shots on target.
Harouna Djibrin missed an open chance at Cameroon’s goal in the 51st minute of play while forward Ibrahim Diarra missed double shots at the 52nd and 54th minutes of play.
Cameroon kept pressing until the 69th minute where Yonjo Mata missed what was considered could be an obvious goal with a little more careful execution.
The odds were not Cameroon’s as Mali improved play style and netted their first goal in the 86th minute of play.
It was at the last minute of extra time when Mali’s captain, Ibrahim Diara made his first brace in the tournament to give Mali a 2-0 lead over Cameroon.
Mali goes straight to the quarterfinals of the competition meanwhile Cameroon is left to fight for an absolute win against Burkina Faso in order to move forward.
Bruno Ndonwie Funwie, Algeria
