Senegal booked their place in the semi finals of the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 after edging past West African rivals Mali 1-0 in a fiercely contested quarter final in Tangier, with the decisive moment coming from a costly goalkeeping error.
The derby began at a frantic pace and controversy arrived as early as the third minute when Mali appealed strongly for a penalty. Lassine Sinayoko weaved into the Senegal penalty area before going down under a poorly timed sliding challenge from Kalidou Koulibaly, but the referee waved away the protests, much to Mali’s frustration.
Mali continued to push forward and registered their first real effort in the 25th minute when Sinayoko’s left footed strike took a deflection off Koulibaly and looped narrowly over the crossbar. Despite Mali’s enterprise, it was Senegal who struck first two minutes later in dramatic fashion. Krepin Diatta delivered a low cross from the right that Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra should have dealt with comfortably, but the ball spilled behind him into the six yard box, allowing Iliman Ndiaye the simplest of finishes to give Senegal the lead.
Senegal almost doubled their advantage before the break. In the 38th minute, Idrissa Gana Gueye’s aerial challenge led to Diatta sending a clever ball over the top for Habib Diallo, who controlled superbly and fired in from a tight angle, only to see his effort deflected just wide. Deep into first half stoppage time, El Hadji Malick Diouf went close again after another powerful run down the left, forcing Diarra into an excellent save that partially redeemed his earlier mistake.
Mali’s task became even more difficult moments later when Yves Bissouma was sent off in the third minute of added time. The Tottenham midfielder was shown a second yellow card for a heavy challenge on Gueye during a Senegal attack, leaving Mali to play the entire second half with ten men for the second match in a row.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Mali showed resilience after the restart and nearly found an equaliser in the 50th minute. Edouard Mendy was forced into action for the first time, making a sharp close range save before gathering at the second attempt as the ball threatened to fall kindly for Lassana Coulibaly. Senegal responded with Gueye testing Diarra from long range, but the goalkeeper was equal to it.
As the game wore on, Diarra emerged as Mali’s standout performer. In the 77th minute, he produced a superb save to deny a Senegal substitute who had broken clean through after a defensive error. In the closing moments of added time, he was again at full stretch to claw Lamine Camara’s fierce volley onto the post and away from danger, ensuring the scoreline remained narrow.
This was the 41st meeting between the two nations, with Senegal extending their long standing dominance in the fixture and remaining unbeaten against Mali for more than 20 years. While it was not Senegal’s most fluent performance, Ndiaye’s first half goal proved enough to send the defending African champions into the last four.
Mali exit the tournament without a single victory in regulation time, left to reflect on missed opportunities and a moment of goalkeeping misfortune that ultimately decided the contest. Senegal will now turn their attention to a heavyweight semi final against either Egypt or Ivory Coast as they continue their pursuit of continental glory.
