Moussa Djenepo and Mali’s Africa Cup of Nations journey came to an end as they were defeated 1-0 by Ivory Coast at the Round of 16 stage on Monday night.
Mali dominated the first-half in Suez, with the threat of Djenepo causing a number of problems in an impressive display, but they failed to make it pay.
The closest they came was just before half-time after the Saints winger’s direct running helped tee up Moussa Marega, who could only turn his shot just around the post.
In the second-half, Ivory Coast grew in confidence and had a big chance through Jonathan Kodjia in the 68th minute, before Wilfried Zaha broke the deadlock nine minutes later with a low drive.
That strike was enough for them to progress and they will now take on Algeria in the quarter-finals.