West African rivals Mali and Ivory Coast will meet in the second semifinal of the 2016 African Nations Championship at Stade Regional Nyamirambo in Kigali on Thursday afternoon, kick-off at 16h00 CAT.

The Eagles earned their place in the final four with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Tunisia in their quarterfinal in Kigali on Sunday. They came from a goal down to secure the victory, with Aliou Dieng and Abdoulaye Diarra finding the back of the net.

It represents Mali’s best performance in a CHAN tournament, beating their showing in 2014 when they were eliminated in the quarters by Zimbabwe.

Their opponents will be the Elephants of Ivory Coast, who produced arguably the best performance of the tournament so far to beat Cameroon 3-0 (after extra time) in their quarterfinal in Butare on Saturday.

The match was goalless after 90 minutes, but Michel Dussuyer’s men proved their class and stamina by banging in three goals in the extra half hour – Koffi Boua, Atcho Djobo and Yao N’Guessan were the men who put their names on the score sheet.

“We showed some good things in the first half, but failed to convert our chances. At this level, the difference is always down to small details,” Dussuyer said after the match.

“We had studied their game well, but we had to produce a good display. My players delivered a great performance. Côte d’Ivoire are gathering momentum, but we still need to fight to push back our limits.”

The teams have met 23 times in official matches according to FIFA statistics, and it’s not good reading if you are a Mali fan: they have just one win (compared to 15 for the Ivory Coast) in the rivalry and have been outscored 44 goals to 15.

The sides last met in January last year and played to a 1-1 draw in their Group D clash in Malabo in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com