Both teams headed into the final matches will a tally of four points and knew that a Ghanaian victory over Mali, who sat a point further back, would take both teams through.

This outcome drew closer when defender Linda Eshun gave Ghana a 1-0 advantage on the stroke of half-time.

Mali’s hopes of progression were then dealt a fatal blow when Samira Suleman doubled Ghana’s advantage with 20 minutes to play, before Elizabeth Addo scored a penalty to make the score 3-0.

Binta Diarra would score a consolation goal for Mali in the 88th minute, with the strike proving one of their final contributions to the tournament.

Despite their 3-1 victory, Ghana would have to settle for second place in the group standings as Nigeria swept aside Kenya.

Ngozi Obiki and Faith Ikidi scored a quickfire double for Nigeria to give them a 2-0 lead after just six minutes of the match, leaving Kenya staring at a three straight defeats.

Tournament top scorer Asisat Oshoala, who struck four times in Ghana’s opening group match, made it 3-0 after the interval.

Desire Oparanozie completed a routine 4-0 victory with an effort two minutes from time, as defending champions Nigeria sealed top spot in the group on goal difference.

Ghana will now face the host nation Cameroon in the first semi-final on Tuesday (November 29), before Nigeria meet South Africa later in the day.