Senegal beat Mali to book first AFCON 2025 semifinal spot

Senegal beat Mali 1-0 to reach AFCON 2025 semifinal where defending champions Ivory Coast or record winners Egypt await.Published On 9 Jan 2026Recalled striker Iliman Ndiaye scored in the first half to give Senegal a 1-0 victory over 10-man Mali in Tangiers on Friday in the first 2025 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal.Mali hopes were dealt a severe blow in first-half added time when Yves Bissouma was sent off after being shown a second yellow card.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘I didn’t set out to break records’: Pakistan’s first female MMA fighterlist 2 of 4Ghana’s Semenyo signs $87m deal to join Manchester City from Bournemouthlist 3 of 4NBA: Utah Jazz close out Dallas Mavericks to end 5-game losing streaklist 4 of 4‘Insane season’: Sabalenka berates tennis chiefs over intense schedulingend of listThe only goal followed a blunder by Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra, who then made a string of superb saves to prevent Senegal increasing their lead.Senegal now face defending champions Ivory Coast or record seven-time winners Egypt, who meet on Saturday, in the semifinals.Malian Lassine Sinayoko appealed for a penalty just three minutes into the first half, alleging he was fouled by Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly, who was back after a one-match suspension.However, the South African referee waved play on, and VAR confirmed his decision was correct. Big-screen replays showed Sinayoko was guilty of simulation.Mali captain Bissouma was yellow-carded midway through the half for fouling veteran Senegal striker and twice African player of the year Sadio Mane.Sinayoko then broke clear only to be foiled by a superb sliding tackle from fellow French Ligue 1 player Krepin Diatta.The deadlock was broken after 27 minutes on a cold, cloudy evening in the Mediterranean city thanks to Ndiaye.He was involved three times in a move which ended with goalkeeper Djigui Diarra allowing a Krepin Diarra cross to slip under his body, and Ndiaye struck the loose ball into the net.Senegal’s forward Iliman Ndiaye celebrates scoring his team’s first goal in the nets of Mali’s goalkeeper Djigui Diarra during the Africa Cup of Nations [Abdel Majid Bziouat/AFP]While the goal was a gift, it gave Senegal a deserved lead as they had dominated possession in only the second AFCON clash between the countries. The first was drawn at the group stage in 2004.