Angola hopes of advancing into the last 16 of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations were dashed on Tuesday night when they succumbed 1-0 at the hands of Group E winners Mali in Ismailia.

The Eagles top the pool and go through to face Ivory Coast in the next round, with their clash against a fellow West African heavyweight set for the Suez Stadium next Monday.

The Palancas Negras, meanwhile, finished third but their record is not strong enough to qualify as one of the four ‘lucky losers’ to advance.

Angola had a wonderful chance to claim the lead as early as the fourth minute, with Gelson Dala put clean through on goal and with only Djigui Diarra to beat, but the forward put a tame shot straight into the arms of the goalkeeper.

Angola’s ‘keeper Toni Cabaca pulled off two good saves in quick succession just after the quarter-hour mark to deny Adama Traore and Falaye Sacko, as Mali began to move through the gears and show their class in attack.

On 32 minutes the Eagles came close again, with Kalifa Coulibaly getting on the end of a corner kick and sending a glancing header just wide of the far post.

Yet the West African heavyweights didn’t have to wait much longer to take the lead, with Amadou Haidara ripping home a superb long-range shot in the 37th minute to make it 1-0 to Mali – a lead they held up to the half-time interval.

The Palancas Negras opted for a double change early in the second half, sending on Wilson Eduardo and Manuel Show in an effort to bolster their attack and get back in the game.

Yet they never really threatened Diarra in the Mali goal, struggling to put together any sustained pressure. In fact, the Eagles looked the likelier scorers through the second half, using their pace and power to good effect.

Angola 0
Mali (1) 1 (A. Haidara 37’)

Angola: Cabaca, Gaspar, Massunguna, Paizo, Bastos, Herenilson, Djalma, Fredy (Show 52’), Dala, Geraldo (Mabululu 81’), Mateus (Eduardo 52’)

Mali: Diarra, Kouyate, Wague, Sacko, A. Haidara (Omar 73’), M. Haidara, L. Coulibaly, Noss, Doumbia (Koita 58’), K. Coulibaly, Traore (Marega 81’)

Angola will look to claim the scalp of Mali when the teams meet in their final Group E match at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. The clash is set for the Ismailia Stadium on Tuesday 1 July, kick-off at 21:00 CAT.

Angola come into the match having played to two successive draws in the AFCON thus far. Their opening 1-1 draw with Tunisia was followed by a goalless stalemate against Mauritania on Saturday.

The result left the Palancas Negras tied with Tunisia in second place on the group, two points behind leaders Mali. The South-Western Africans will know that a win guarantees a place in the knockout rounds of the competition for the first time since 2010.

Coach Srdjan Vasiljevic will want to see an improved efficiency in attack from his team, which missed several good chances to claim a win over Mauritania but weren’t able to be ruthless and clinical – two characteristics they will need to demonstrate if they are to get the better of their West African opponents.

Mali, meanwhile, stayed on course for qualification to the next round with a 1-1 draw against Tunisia on Friday. Diadie Samassekou scored direct from a corner kick (with a big helping hand from the Carthage Eagles goalkeeper) as the West Africans claimed a valuable point against the group’s other heavyweight.

Eagles coach Mohamed Magassouba was satisfied with his team’s showing against Tunisia but will want to see a victory against Angola to ensure that they finish top of the group and face a ‘weaker’ opponent in the next round.

In head-to-head stats, Angola and Mali have met in four previous matches. Both the Palancas Negras and the Eagles have claimed one win, while two games have been drawn.

The teams’ most recent meeting was an amazing 2010 Nations Cup group stage match in which Mali recovered from four goals down to hold hosts Angola 4-4 in the tournament opener in Luanda.