FIFA U-17: Mali eye third W/Cup quarterfinal

Mali will battle Korea DPR in Talca  on tomorrow, for a place in the quarterfinals of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The ‘Aiglonnets’ earned their spot in the round of 16 of the showpiece event after finishing top of Group D on seven points, with a goalless draw against Belgium in their campaign opener followed by back-to-back victories over Ecuador and Honduras.
Already quarterfinalists in Egypt in 1997 and in Trinidad and Tobago in 2001, the West Africans are targeting a top-four finish in Chile to emulate the Under-20 national team.
“This is a long journey that began a while ago in the African qualifying and now we have finished in the first position in our group,” Mali coach Baye Ba said.
“Mali finished in third position in U-20 finals that took place some months ago in New Zealand and this is our goal too: be in the four best teams of this tournament.”


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