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Mali national football team
Africa Cup of Nations | Group Stage
Jan 20, 2013 at 6pm UK
 
Niger national football team

1-0

Mali scrape past Niger

Mali open their Africa Cup of Nations Group B campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Niger in Port Elizabeth.

Mali have opened their Africa Cup of Nations Group B campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Niger in Port Elizabeth.

Seydou Keita's late goal has sent the Eagles to the top of the standings following Ghana's 2-2 draw with DR Congo earlier on Sunday.

Mali skipper Seydou Keita celebrates his goal as teammates follow, after a strike against Niger on January 20, 2013© AP Photos

Mali were dominant in the first half, but Cheick Diabate, Keita and Mahamadou Diarra were all wasteful with their chances.

Keita came close to breaking the deadlock 10 minutes after the restart, only for Niger goalkeeper Kassaly Daouda to deny the captain.

Niger rarely threatened, but they nearly nicked the three points in the final 15 minutes when Maazou headed over from a corner.

Mali came close to snatching a winner with 10 minutes left to play as Keita's strike crashed against the crossbar.

However, the midfielder finally made the breakthrough in the 85th minute when he took advantage of a fumble by Douada to fire in.

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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Equatorial Guinea flag Eq Guinea32107
Q Nigeria Nigeria32107
Q Cote D'Ivoire flag Ivory Coast31023
4 Guinea-Bissau flag Guinea-Bissau30030

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Cape Verde flag Cape Verde32107
Q Egypt Egypt30303
3 Ghana flag Ghana30212
4 Mozambique flag Mozambique30212

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Senegal flag Senegal33009
Q Guinea flag Guinea31114
Q Cameroon flag Cameroon31114
4 Gambia flag Gambia30030

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Angola Angola32107
Q Burkina Faso flag Burkina Faso31114
Q Mauritania flag Mauritania31023
4 Algeria Algeria30212

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Mali flag Mali31205
Q South Africa South Africa31114
Q Namibia Namibia31114
4 Tunisia Tunisia30212

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Morocco Morocco32107
Q DR Congo flag Congo DR30303
3 Tanzania flag Tanzania30212
4 Zambia flag Zambia30212


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