Mali kicked off their TotalEnergies CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations (U-17 AFCON) campaign with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Angola on Tuesday at the Stade Municipal de Berrechid. Goals from Ndjicoura Bomba and Soungalo Coulibaly secured the win, putting the West Africans atop Group D.
Bomba opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a stunning right-footed strike, but Angola hit back on the stroke of halftime through Jayden Puna’s VAR-confirmed header. The decisive moment came in the 74th minute when substitute Coulibaly unleashed a long-range rocket to seal all three points.
Despite late pressure from Angola, Mali held firm to take early control of the group, setting the tone for their AFCON title chase.
