Mali faced Burkina Faso on Tuesday in Korhogo in the round of 16 of the African Cup of Nations. And it was the Eagles who did well by winning against the Stallions (2-1). The Burkinabè tried to get back into the match until the end of the match, but in vain.
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Mali won against Burkina Faso (2-1), Tuesday January 30, at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly stadium in Korhogo and won its place in the quarter-finals of CAN 2024, where it will face the host country Côte of ivory. Three years after their last confrontation in the African Nations Championship (Mali’s 1-0 victory), the Eagles and the Stallions met this time in the round of 16 for a match of the underdogs.
The match has barely started, and the Eagles are already taking out their claws: on their first offensive, Traoré finds Haïdara in the area whose powerful header hits the post. The ball returns to the feet of the Burkinabè defender Tapsoba who deceives his goalkeeper by trying to clear the ball, and scores against his side (1-0, 3rd).
The Stallions are stunned from the start. They tried to react on set pieces, but neither Traoré’s free kick (6th) nor Dayo’s header from a corner (12th) destabilized the Malian defense. The Eagles, for their part, lead on the scoreboard and are unapologetic: Doumbia shows off his technique and slaloms in the middle of three Burkinabè before handing the ball to Traoré, who hits above Koffi’s cage (15th ).
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Burkina Faso has not said its last word and is sometimes even bold like Traoré. The Burkinabe winger decides to hit a full-on free kick from 35 meters, but his rebound shot is finally captured by Diarra (22nd).
The Eagles are patiently waiting for their turn and looking to score a second goal. But Koffi stands in their way each time: the Burkinabè goalkeeper assumes his status as the last rampart against Doumbia (24th, 25th) although two offsides are ultimately called.
And the Burkinabè goalkeeper’s show continues against Sinayoko: he sickens the Malian attacker by taking the ball out of his top corner while the chest control – half-volley sequence seemed unstoppable (30th). Then he wins his one-on-one against the same player by catching his point on the ground (36th). Burkina Faso returns to the locker room with only a goal behind and can thank its goalkeeper.
Sinayoko widens the gap, startle of the Stallions
All of Koffi’s work during the first act is reduced to nothing when the 22 players return: Sinaoyko is launched alone in depth and presents himself alone against the Burkina Faso goalkeeper before slipping the ball between his legs (2-0, 47th ). The Stallions will have paid dearly at the start of each period.
The Burkinabè have a burst of pride in the process: Kaboré finds Konaté on a curled cross but his head goes above the Malian cage (50th). On the next action, we take the same ones and we start again but that was without counting on the timely exit of Diarra which puts an end to the opportunity (53rd)… Unless it is otherwise.
On this same action, the match is restarted: the referee is called by the VAR and whistles a penalty for the Stallions after a handball from Kouyaté. Traoré transforms the set piece and brings his team back into the game (2-1, 57th).
The Eagles rely on dazzling performances, like this new slalom at Doumbia between the opposing lines. But the Eagle’s strike is too focused and captured by Moffi (64th). The Stallions, for their part, are on the lookout to return to equality… On an error of attention from the Malian defense, Kaboré strikes at point blank range on Diarra. But the Eagles goalkeeper wins the duel (72nd).
Burkina Faso thought they would come back to the score at the end of normal time with a free kick victoriously headed by Dayo, but it was finally called offside (90th). Mali preserves its advantage on the scoreboard until the final whistle, and the Eagles qualify for the quarter-finals of a CAN for the first time since 2013.