Africa football powerhouse Mali's Under-17 side made light work of Concacaf champions in the last 16 of the Fifa U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023.
The West African nation demolished their North American counterparts 5-0 to sail into the quarterfinals with Mahamoud Barry named man of the match after another stellar show.
Barry scored twice inside the opening 15 minutes to mark a dream start for the Africans. He also set up another goal as Mali proved too good and a cut above their opponents in Surabaya with a 4-0 half-time lead.
Les Aigles were irresistible throughout, with the outcome all but settled inside a one-sided opening 15 minutes in which the outclassed Mexicans conceded three times.
Barry was the difference-maker during this period, with his superb opening goal – curled home from 20 yards at the end of a flowing Mali move – setting the tone for what was to follow.
The athletic No19’s second goal came just four minutes later, and from a near-identical position, with clever approach work again capped by a powerful and precise finish from inside the D.
Mexico simply had no answer to their African opponents and fell further behind soon after when Ibrahim Diarra’s left-foot effort sneaked past Paolo Bedolla and into the bottom-left corner.
