After waiting for two decades, Mali’s U23 football squad has finally qualified for the Olympic Games in Paris after defeating Guinea 4-3 in a penalty at the AFCON U23 tournament.

Coach Badara Alou Diallo’s team defeated Guinea in a tense penalty shootout in a highly anticipated play-off encounter at the TotalEnergies CAF U23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023, winning 4-3 following a scoreless draw.

There weren’t many scoring possibilities in the first half of the game at the Ibn Batouta Stadium, but both teams came back to the pitch eager to score.

Algassime Bah had two chances to score Guinea’s first goal, but Mali custodian Lassine Diarra was a difficult opponent.

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Since neither team could break the tie, a tight penalty shootout was required to determine the game.

Mali’s hero was Diarra, who stopped Aguibou Camara’s and Seydoumba Cisse’s penalty kicks.

Issoufi Maiga of Mali missed his penalty kick, but the remaining four players all successfully converted their remaining penalties as a result of the team’s unrelenting composure.

The U23 team from Mali has now qualified for the Olympics twice in the country’s football history.

The first time was in 2004 when Tenema N’Diaye’s Olympic Eagles team made it all the way to the quarterfinals in Athens.

The Mali team’s players and officials were overcome with emotion as they rejoiced over their long-awaited qualification for the Paris Olympics.

Mali is the third African country to confirm its participation in the famous competition, after Morocco and Egypt.

Guinea still has a chance to join them via a play-off against a team from Asia on a yet-to-be-announced date.

On Saturday in Rabat, the TotalEnergies CAF U23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 final will take place.