FRANCE ADVANCES TO THE FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP FINAL AFTER DEFEATING MALI 2-1.

France defeated Mali 2-1 on Tuesday at the Manahan Stadium in Surakarta, Indonesia, to advance to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023 final.

On Saturday, December 2, France will play Germany in the championship match. Earlier in the day, after the game finished 3-3 in regulation time, Germany defeated Argentina in a penalty shootout.
Ibrahim Diarra, a midfielder, gave Mali the lead at the end of the first half’s relegation time.

After the interval, France came out stronger than ever, determined to close the gap. It assaulted multiple times, applying constant pressure to the defense of Mali.

During one such raid, Mali’s defender Souleymane Sanogo took down French left-back Aymen Sadi in a dangerous manner. After being notified by VAR, the referee first just called a foul; but, after seeing the video, he changed his mind and dismissed the Malian defender in the 54th minute.

In the 56th minute, Yvann Titi, a defender, used a strong header from close range to capitalize on a free kick that was awarded, helping France battle their way back into the game. France, encouraged by its numerical advantage, pushed forward aggressively in an attempt to take the lead. In the 69th minute, midfielder Ismail Bouneb’s exquisite low free-kick from the left edge of the box found its way straight into the bottom corner of the net.

Since the red card incident, the game has become more physical between the two teams, and the referee had to issue a few yellow cards to keep the players in check.