Ghana were humbled by Mali 1-0 in Group B final match day of the African U-20 Championship in M'Bour, Senegal on Sunday.
Defender and captain Ichaka Diarra grabbed the lead for the junior Eagles with a thrilling header after 18 minutes and guided his inspiring team to safeguard the advantage until the final whistle to finish atop of the group with nine points.
Both teams had qualified for the semi-finals coming into the meeting, and were aiming to seal their group campaign with a win to top the pack and avoid six-time champions Nigeria, who claimed one point in a 2-2 draw against Ivory Coast to finish as leaders of Group A with seven points.
Mali applied more pressure through the flanks in search of a second goal, as the Ghanaians struggled to get a foothold in the game as the first half wore on.
After the break, coach Sellas Tetteh threw Yaw Yeboah and Samuel Tetteh, who replaced Jonathan Osabutey and Asiedu Attobrah respectively, into the fray to avoid succumbing more to the firepower of the unsung Malian side.
However, the winners of the 2009 edition kept repeating defective constructions, mostly in the middle of the park, as the opposing side fought off to keep their lead unscathed.
After trading more tackles, the Malians carefully negotiated the rest of the encounter without damage to emerge as the only team to rake all nine possible points from the group stage.
Ghana will meet Nigeria in the first semi-final on Wednesday March 18 at the Sedar Senghor Stadium in Dakar, while Mali will take on host nation Senegal in the second semi-final on Thursday March 19 at the same venue.
The four teams have qualified for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup set for next May/June in New Zealand.
