Oumar Diakite was the hero as hosts Ivory Coast pulled off another remarkable rescue on Saturday to reach the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, with South Africa later joining them.
A superb backheel from the extra-time substitute at the end of extra time in Bouake gave the Elephants a 2-1 victory over Mali, who dominated much of the quarter-final and scored first.
Ivory Coast-born Nene Dorgeles put Mali ahead on 71 minutes against the hosts, who were reduced to 10 men just before half-time when Odilon Kossunou was sent off.
But another Ivorian substitute, Simon Andingra, equalized in the 90th minute to send the pulsating West African encounter into extra time.
Then, with the quarter-final ostensibly decided by a penalty shoot-out, Diakite found the back of the net from a team-mate and slotted past Mali goalkeeper Jigou Diarra.
Diakite, who had received a yellow card earlier, took off his shirt while celebrating, resulting in a second caution followed by a red card.
The win came at a high price as Diakite, Kossounou, Captain Serge Aurier and Christian Kouame all crashed out of the semi-final against the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday.
“After this kind of match, there aren’t really things to explain, it’s just emotions,” said Diakite, who plays for French Ligue 1 side Reims.
“My joy was so great that I forgot I had a yellow card. It was a mistake on my part. Even if I’m not there, we can get the job done (get to the final).
“With that goal, I think I put happiness on the faces of every Ivorian fan on the pitch. There are no words to describe how I feel right now, but I am happy.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult match, but we made it difficult for ourselves. Our mindset played a key role in this triumph.
“Our fans are incredible and we had no choice but to give our best and go for the win, even if the red card before mine made it difficult.”
Victory maintained the Elephants’ dominance over the Eagles in the AFCON tournaments — it was their fifth win since 1994 with another draw.
Ivory Coast last reached the semi-finals in 2015 in Equatorial Guinea and defeated DR Congo 3-1 before winning the tournament for the second time.
Ivory Coast entered the knockout stage this time as the last of the four best third-placed nations and then trailed holders Senegal for 82 minutes before grabbing an equaliser.
They went on to win the last-16 clash on penalties, only to play second fiddle to Mali in the next round before staging a stunning comeback.
Mali contributed to their downfall by squandering an opportunity to take an early lead when Adama ‘Noss’ Traore saved a Youssouf Fofana penalty.
Several Malians could face disciplinary action as a group, including red-carded captain Hamari Traore, surrounded the Egyptian referee after the winning goal, forcing the referee to send some off.
Meanwhile, South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams saved four penalties in the process as his country beat Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties following a 0-0 draw after extra time in Yamoussoukro.
Bryan Teixeira was the only Cape Verdean to score from the spot, while Teboho Mokoena and Mothobi Mvala scored for South Africa.
South Africa are back in the semi-finals for the first time since 2000, when they lost to then-contestants Nigeria in Bouake on Wednesday.
Cape Verde could have won the match in added time at the end of normal time when Gilson Tavares broke through, but Williams pushed his shot onto the post and the ball went wide.
On Friday, Nigeria beat Angola 1-0 with an Ademola Lookman goal and DR Congo came from behind to beat Guinea 3-1 with a late Arthur Masuaku goal from a successful free-kick.
Nigeria, who can call on reigning African Player of the Year Victor Osimhen, have won the AFCON three times, Ivory Coast and DR Congo twice and South Africa once.
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