Dramatic back-heel goal by Oumar Diakite in added time at the end of extra time gave hosts Ivory Coast a 2-1 win over Mali in Bouake on Saturday after a dramatic Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.
Reduced to 10 men by a red card at the end of the first half – before Diakite’s second yellow for celebrating his winner – the Ivorians fell behind in the second half to a Nene Dorgeles goal only for Simon Adingra to equalise in the 90th minute.
The result marked another upward turn for the Ivory Coast in a roller coaster AFCON campaign in which they scraped into the knockout stage after a 4-0 hiding from Equatorial Guinea.
It was a heartbreaking outcome for Mali, who dominated for long periods and, despite missing a penalty, seemed set to maintain a record of never losing a Cup of Nations quarter-final.
Ivory Coast now return to Abidjan, where they will face the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday in the semi-finals, but Diakite is set to miss out after picking up a second yellow card while celebrating his winning goal.
This was the sixth meeting of the countries in the AFCON with the two-time champions Ivory Coast winning four and drawing one previously against rivals whose best showing was 1972 runners-up.
