Yves Bissouma will rue letting his teammates down after picking up two unnecessary yellow cards in the first half to put Mali in a difficult position.
Mali played with 10 men for over 50 minutes against a well-formidable and organised Senegalese side due to unbelievable indiscipline.
The major problem that has affected the Eagles is the numerous red cards they have received in the five games played. Surprisingly, Mali was shown the red card on three occasions during their stay in Morocco.
Malian goalkeeper Djigu Diarra failed to deal with Kreppin Diatta’s fine cross from the right-hand side, where Iliman Ndiaye had the easiest job on the day to just tap in the ball to give Senegal a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Diarra’s calamity summed up the disastrous first half he had, simply unforgettable.
The game was so close before Bissouma’s red card on the stroke of half-time. Mali were finding a way to stop the Senegalese dominance, then boom, Bissouma lost his head and received a very unnecessary yellow card.
In the second half, Tom Saintfiet had no option but to throw more men forward in search of an equaliser. Nene’s introduction helped Mali move higher up the pitch for the needed goal, but it could not.
Djigu Diarra found his feet and made more than five great saves to keep the Eagles of Mali in contention.
Senegal protected their lead but were threatened on a couple of occasions by Mali.
Pape Bounar Thiaw’s side qualified for the semi-finals of the AFCON for the third time since the 2019 AFCON and the 7th in their history.
Senegal will face the winner of ivory coast and Egypt, who play on Saturday.
