Rhino: The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire continued their impressive run in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Mali in a closely contested quarter-final match played on Saturday evening at the Stade de la Paix.

Mali took the lead through Nene Dorgeles in the 71st minute, putting their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive.

The Elephants refused to give up, and Simon Adingra equalized in the 90th minute, bringing the match back to level terms.

The match remained tied at the end of regular time, forcing the game into extra time. In the 120th minute, Omar Diakite stepped up and scored the decisive goal, leading his team to a memorable victory and a place in the semi-finals.

The match witnessed several dramatic moments, including Mali missing a penalty in the 18th minute and Egyptian referee Mohamed Adel cancelling another penalty awarded to Mali for offside in the 16th minute.

Cote d’Ivoire struggled to create attacking opportunities for most of the match, and Odilon Kossounou was sent off in the 43rd minute for a reckless challenge on a Malian player.

With this victory, Cote d’Ivoire have set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash against the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, at 10:00 PM, at the Stade Houphouët-Boigny.

It is worth noting that Cote d’Ivoire are two-time AFCON champions, having won the title in 1992 and 2015. The Elephants are aiming to reclaim the continental crown in this edition of the tournament.