Mali produced a spirited comeback to secure a 1-1 draw against hosts Morocco in Group A of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat, leaving the Atlas Lions close to booking their place in the knockout rounds.
The match at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium revolved around two VAR-reviewed penalty decisions, both awarded by Cameroonian referee Abdou Abdel Mefire after on-field reviews.
Morocco struck first deep into first-half stoppage time when Brahim Diaz converted from the spot after the ball struck the hand of Mali defender Nathan Gassama inside the area.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒆’𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅,” 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅.
VAR Drama and Mali’s Calm Response
The Eagles drew level shortly after the hour mark when Lassine Sinayoko was fouled by Jawad El Yamiq during a rare Mali counter-attack. Despite loud whistles from the home crowd, Sinayoko kept his nerve and calmly slotted the ball beneath goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra played a decisive role late on, denying Youssef En-Nesyri with a sharp reflex save and later preventing an own goal from Woyo Coulibaly in added time.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Morocco dominated possession and chances but failed to find a winner, bringing an end to their world-record run of 19 consecutive victories, although they remain unbeaten in 22 matches.
Group A Standings and What’s Next
Morocco tops Group A with four points, while Mali and Zambia sit on two points each. Comoros, who earlier drew 0-0 with Zambia, are at the bottom with one point.
The group concludes on Monday, with Morocco facing Zambia in Rabat and Mali travelling to Casablanca to take on Comoros, as the battle for the last-16 places intensifies.
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