U-17 World Cup: Mali beat fellow African side Ghana to make semis

Guwahati, October 21: Mali kept their cool to defeat fellow African side Ghana 2-1 in a FIFA U-17 World Cup quarter-final match played under the rain in Guwahati on Saturday (October 21).

Hadji Drame (15th minute) and Djemoussa Traore (61st) scored for Mali to give them a two-goal cushion. Kudus Mohammed pulled one back in the 70th minute for Ghana but the team couldn't find an equaliser at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium.

Mali, the runners-up in the previous edition, started strong. Lassana N'diaye found the ball at his feet in a dangerous position on two different occasions, but Ghana's defence was equal to the task.

Match stats

On the lookout for a goal, Mali were rewarded for their attacking play when Drame put them ahead with a beautiful strike, his third of the competition.

While the two-time former champions Ghana struggled to play their natural game in the rain, Mali seemed to thrive in these conditions and went into the half-time with a one-goal advantage.

Mali doubled the lead, quite deservingly so, in the 61st minute through Traore. A gaffe by Ghana goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim, who raced off his line to make a clearance, ended up handing Traore the perfect chance to make it 2-0.

There was a glimmer of hope for Ghana when Mohammed converted a penalty after Sadiq Ibrahim was fouled by Fode Konate in the box.

Ghana piled on the attack for the remaining 20 minutes of play. However, even the continuous encouragement by a handful of their supporters in the stands failed to inspire them.

In the first half, Ghana did manage to find the net but Ibrahim Sulley's effort was disallowed as there was a foul on a Mali player.

Ghana played the last few minutes of the game with 10 men after injury forced Gideon Mensah off the pitch.

Mali will meet the winner of the match between Spain and Iran in the semifinal.

RESULT
Mali 2 (Hadji Drame 15, Djemoussa Traore 61) bt Ghana 1 (Kudus Mohammed)