Senegal beat Mali 1-0 to AFCON semi-finals

By Editor

Senegal have beaten Mali 1-0 in the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 quarter-finals game played in Tangier, Morocco, on Friday to book their place in the semi-finals.

Iliman Ndiayemade, who plays for Everton in the English Premier League, made the difference when he scored the only goal in the 27th minute of the game.

The Malians were hit hard when Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma got a red card in the added minutes from the first half after receiving a second yellow.

The lone goal in the tightly contested West African derby came in a match that saw Senegal continue their impressive run in Morocco. Senegal, though, were highly tipped to win before the kick-off.

The win extends Senegal’s dominant record against Mali — the Lions of Teranga are unbeaten in 14 straight runs against their neighbours and have progressed to the last four for the fifth time in AFCON history.

Senegal also remain unbeaten in their last 15 AFCON matches, one of the longest streaks in the competition.

Hosts Morocco and hard-tackling Cameroonians are in the second quarter-finals game on Friday.

Nigeria and Algeria are billed for an epic battle on Saturday.