Mali held on to defeat Ghana 2-1 and reach the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 on Saturday. The result follows victory over their West African rivals in this year’s CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations final and moves them into a last-four meeting with either Iran or Spain in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.

In very wet weather at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, both sides did well to play through the conditions, with Mali dominating to opening half. The Eaglets took the lead on the quarter-hour mark, as Hadji Drame broke in on the Ghanaian goal before putting his shot past Black Starlets goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim for his third goal of the tournament.

Ghana then had the ball in the opposite net just before half-time, however Ibrahim Sulley’s effort was disallowed for a foul by team-mate Kudus Mohammed in the build-up.

Just after the hour mark, Mali scored their winner through Djemoussa Traore. He beat the back-tracking Danlad Ibrahim with a long-range effort after the Ghana goalkeeper misjudged his rush off his goalline to make an attempted clearance outside his box.

With 20 minutes to go, Ghana halved the deficit through a Mohammed penalty after substitute Sadiq Ibrahim was fouled in the Mali box but, in the end, the Eaglets held on to secure a second appearance in the last four at a U-17 World Cup in as many tournaments. Their only disappointment is a suspension to Mali captain Mohamed Camara for the semi-finals through the accumulation of yellow cards.