Mali reached their first AFCON quarter final for the first time since 2013, courtesy of a 2-1 win over Burkina Faso.
Mali got a fast start when Edmond Tapsoba unknowingly put the ball through his own goal as early as the 3rd minute.
The first half of the game had a tinge of misses from both sides with Mali accumulating 8 shots and only having 2 on target, Burkina Faso also tried equalizing proceedings with their little share of possession and just 3 attempts in total.
Although Burkina Faso made two substitutions at half time, but that would not stop Lassine Sinayoko from burying his chance in the 47th minute, bringing a deja vu moment for the Burkinabes.
Burkina Faso would finally get themselves going in the tie when the referee awarded a penalty in favour of Mohammed Konate. Aston Villa forward, Bertrand Traore was summoned upon again, and he converted from 12 yards, the 28 year old’s third and final goal of his AFCON campaign.
The game had a little twist at the end when a header was turned in for the Burkinabes, but was ruled out by VAR.
And the referee would close the game after 8 minutes of stoppages. This marked Mali’s first quarter final since 2013, after losing round of 16 ties in 2019 and 2021.
Burkina Faso have now lost two of their last eight knockout games and will be hoping to come back stronger in the next edition.
