Mali kick off Africa Cup of Nations campaign with victory over Mauritania

Mail opened their Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a resounding 4-1 triumph over Mauritania at the Suez Stadium. Mauritania, who are making their debut in the competition in Egypt, at least had one moment to cheer about in their Group E clash as they scored their first goal thanks to Moctar El Hacen’s 72nd-minute spot-kick. Mali initially struggled to break down the Mauritania defence but broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when Abdoulay Diaby cut inside from the right wing and found the top-right corner with a powerful 25-yard effort. The Eagles doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time when Lassana Coulibaly was felled by Mauritania goalkeeper Brahim Souleymane in the penalty area, with Porto striker Moussa Marega slotting home the spot-kick. Mauritania proved why they are ranked 103rd in the world after some slack defending let Monaco midfielder Adama Traore jink his way to the edge of the area before drilling into the bottom corner to make it 3-0 in the 55th minute. El Hacen’s penalty gave Mauritania fans some joy but Orleans forward Adama Traore restored Mali’s three-goal cushion just two minutes later with a superb curling effort as Mohamed Magassouba’s side eased to a one-sided victory. Topics Mali, Mauritania, Adama Traore, Moussa Marega, Africa Cup of Nations, Mali, Mauritania Boothroyd questions concentration as ‘poor decisions’ cost England Under-21s Bronze: We want to push the women’s game forward Young Lions held by Croatia to exit Euro 2019 without a win Norwich sign Switzerland striker Josip Drmic on a free transfer Angola hold Tunisia to a draw in Group E opener 15 Premier League players who should definitely leave their clubs this summer Quiz! Can you name every country Lionel Messi has scored against for Argentina? 6 under-23s who Premier League clubs WILL be watching at the Africa Cup of Nations – and who they’d suit 5 things we learned from England’s bizarre World Cup win against Cameroon Quiz! How many of Chelsea’s 50 biggest transfers can you name?