Mali beat Mauritania and finished top of Group F, and those who showed great potential continued their unbeaten run in the group stage of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) to seven games.
After conceding two goals in the first ten minutes against Tunisia on the second day of the match, Mauritania would be looking for a better chance in their final group stage clash. Unfortunately for the ‘Chinguetti Lion’, Mali had other ideas as they took the lead within the first two minutes. Hamari Traoré's cross reached Massadio Haïdara and the Lens player made the difficult finish look easy as he led the ball into the far corner, enrolling the tournament's fastest goal so far.
Mauritania did not learn a lesson in the first half as they allowed another early goal in the second half. A weak defense led to Moussa Doumbia being brought down in the goal area, and Koné stepped up and scored for the third consecutive match. Satisfied with their two-goal lead, Mali started to focus on owning the ball instead of looking for a third, and crossed the last minute to secure their place in the knockout stages.
Eager to finish top of Group F, 'Les Aigles' went on to score a second goal and their unrelenting pressure came close to prompting Ibrahima Koné to grab Mali's second goal of the game, but the Sarpsborg forward was denied Babacar Diop's legs. . Mauritania have failed to score in their previous four games in the AFCON finals, and their problems in front of goal continued in the first half, as they struggled to find guaranteed chances.
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