Mali Stun Cape Verde, Cameroon Top Group
Mali secured a dramatic 3-2 victory over Cape Verde while Cameroon edged Ghana 1-0 on Sunday to tighten their grip on Group D at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
At the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, Mali revived their campaign with a hard-fought win in a must-win encounter for both sides. Oumou Kone opened the scoring in the 29th minute after Aissata Traore created the chance. Cape Verde, appearing at their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals, responded before half-time when Eve Pereira equalised in the 36th minute, ending a five-match scoring drought and delivering the debutants’ first goal of the tournament.
Fatoumata Niakate restored Mali’s lead early in the second half in the 50th minute, again assisted by Traore. Fatoumata Diarra then appeared to settle the contest in the 79th minute, finishing from an Orokia Sissoko pass to make it 3-1. Cape Verde refused to yield, with Alivia Kelly pulling a goal back in the 88th minute from Natasha Whanon’s assist, but Mali held firm through the closing stages to claim three vital points.
The result lifted Mali level with Ghana on three points. Earlier on Sunday, Cameroon had defeated Ghana 1-0 in another Group D fixture in Casablanca, moving to the top of the table with six points. Marie Ngah Manga converted a 19th-minute penalty awarded after a VAR review, scoring her third goal of the tournament and accounting for all of Cameroon’s goals so far in Morocco.
Ghana thought they had equalised in the 80th minute when substitute Evelyn Badu found the net following a goalkeeper error, but a second VAR check ruled the effort offside. Cameroon defended resolutely thereafter to preserve the narrow advantage.
Both matches carried significant stakes after the opening round of fixtures. Mali had fallen 2-1 to Cameroon while Cape Verde lost 2-0 to Ghana. The sides had previously met in qualification, where Cape Verde prevailed 4-3 on aggregate to reach the expanded finals; Mali advanced through the broader tournament format.
Cameroon’s second successive win leaves the Indomitable Lionesses on the brink of a quarter-final place ahead of their final group match against Cape Verde. Ghana must now secure a positive result against Mali in their last group outing to keep qualification hopes alive. Cape Verde remain bottom of the group without a point after two matches, though their late pressure and two goals against Mali demonstrated clear competitive character.
The tightly contested group leaves the path to the knockout stages finely balanced, with Cameroon best placed and Mali, Ghana and Cape Verde all still with something to play for when the remaining fixtures conclude.
