The Malian Under-17 have joined their fellow Africans, Nigeria in qualifying for the semi-final of the 2015 Under-17 World Cup.
Mali’s miserly defence continued in their 1-0 victory over Croatia, with Les Aigles stretching their impressive run without conceding to almost five hours.
Sekou Koita’s first-half effort was enough to see off the Europeans, despite a booking for captain Abdoul Dante meaning their leader and defensive organiser would miss the historic semi-final.
This is their first FIFA U-17 World Cup semi-final.
Nigeria had earlier on Sunday night punished Brazil’s profligacy and strolled into the last-four with a 3-0 victory.
With eight semi-finals for holders Nigeria, they have now set a FIFA U-17 World Cup record, after surpassing Brazil by beating them in the Chile 2015 quarter-final.