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Wilfried Zaha scored the only goal to allow Ivory Coast to beat Mali 1-0 in Suez on Monday during the 16th day of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Crystal Palace Zaha winger badured that the Ivorians remained undefeated against Mali during the tournament, as he was returning home in the 76th minute to qualify in the quarter-final against Algeria.
However, the 2015 champions will have to perform better if they aspire to a second title in four years, the Ivory Coast's talented attack against Zaha, Nicolas Pepe and Jonathan Kodjia having largely failed.
"We will enjoy our victory, it was not easy against a good team from Mali," said the Ivory Coast boss, Ibrahim Kamara.
"We had a tough first half where we did not succeed, we let the storm pbad and were able to make the most of our key moments."
Pepe, in high demand, returned for the elephants after his 4-1 win over Namibia alongside Kodjia, while Mali recalled a crowd of regular players having rested key players after qualifying themselves for group with a game to lose.
Mali has qualified as the top scorer of the group stage with six goals alongside Algeria. The Ivorians had trouble early in the evening, although Lbadana Coulibaly lost ground after Moussa Marega tried to get into the starting position.
Sylvain Gbohouo was lucky enough to escape when he defeated Abdoulay Diaby in a corner, before the Ivorian goalkeeper pbaded behind his free-kick.
After three defeats and a draw, Mali were looking for their first victory over the Nations Cup against their compatriots from West Africa. Moussa Djenepo, Southampton rookie, stumbled and scored on goal early in the second period.
Kodjia was denied at the other end, while Djigui Diarra hijacked the ball from the front of Aston Villa and that an ineffective Pepe retired after 68 minutes.
Zaha broke through with a quarter of an hour remaining when Gbohouo 's hopeful ball jumped past a static Mali defense until Arsenal' s target hit the ball. beyond Diarra.
Adama Traoré created a late opportunity as Mali looked to extend the match, but his shot was retained by Gbohouo.
"We managed the match perfectly and created many opportunities, but we were missing a finisher today," said Malian coach Mohamed Magbadouba.
"It was a bad day for us – the only chance they could have put away – I would not even say it was a coincidence, but rather an opportunistic attacker."
Tunisia in last place in quarterfinals
Tunisia beat Ghana 5-4 on penalties in the first leg of their last 16 games on Monday, after a 1-1 draw in overtime to win last place in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup ™. Africa of Nations.
Ferjani Sbadi scored the decisive blow of the shootout as Tunisia continued its unconvincing progress in the tournament where it will face Thursday the rookie of Madagascar Thursday.
Tunisia opened the scoring against the race when striker Taha Ybadine Khenissi scored 17 minutes.
But a goal from the break allowed Ghana to come back and force the match to extra time, while defender Rami Bedoui, who had just attempted to strengthen the defense, headed for his own goal, tempting to clear a free kick trapped. Jordan Ayew.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
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