FIFA U-17 World Cup: Mali set up semi-final clash with France
Mali will continue to defend the African flag in the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Morocco in the All-African quarter-final clash.
The Malians have now reached the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in three of the last four editions.
A late goal by Ibrahim Diarra was enough for Mali to set up a mouthwatering semi-final clash with their French counterparts on Tuesday.
Mali who were finalists in 2015, dominated the entire game but struggled to score as the Moroccan defense remained resolute.
A solo effort by Ibrahim Kanate opened the Moroccan defense in the 81st minute, but his strike was deflected onto the post before Ibrahim Diarra’s rebound found the back of the net to register the only goal of the game.
Mali coach Soumalia Coulibaly says his charges deserve to be in the last four of the competition.
“We played well, we had a lot of situations, we were supposed to conclude the game in the first half, but today we took our time. It is not our project, we want to score faster in our games. Even if it lasted a long time, we won and now we are in the semi-finals. I think we deserve it”, the Mali coach noted.
The other semi-final clash will see two tournament favorites Germany and Argentina fight for a ticket to the grand finale.
