Guinea and Mali held each other to a third successive 1-1 draw as lots will be drawn to determine who joins Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Both sides finished joint second in Group C after boasting identical points and goals for and against, and it comes down to luck as the African Football Federation will draw lots tomorrow to see which team advances.
Below, relive the drama of the clash in Mongomo.
5.33pmGood evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of Guinea's final Group D clash with Mali in Mongomo tonight. I'm Shane and I'll be taking you through what promises to be a thrilling finale to a group where all four sides have played two, drawn two, scored two and conceded two, culminating in two points.
5.35pmYep, things are ridiculously tight after all four nations - along with Cameroon and Ivory Coast - drew 1-1 in their first two games. We could even see lots drawn to determine who moves into the quarters, providing we don't see two more identical draws tonight.
5.38pmHowever, despite how confusing things look, and it does seem very complex, but in actual fact it's rather simple: victory for one of these sides will see them progress into the last eight, while the same is true for the game between Ivory Coast and Cameroon (which kicks off the same time).
5.41pmWhat does 'drawing lots' entail then? The captains of the countries in question must sketch pictures of a car park, and Neil Buchanan from Art Attack decides which is the best and these countries then qualify for the quarters. Really? No, but that's how I'd do it. In reality, it's just picking names out of a hat really. be It'd be a shame to see such a random process determine our quarter-finalists from Group D, but that's the reality. Let's hope we see victories, though.
5.44pmLet's get into a bit of team news then? Okay. Stay tuned.
5.45pmGUINEA XI: Yattara; Mohamed Yattara, Sylla, Camara, Traore, Constant, Conte, Cisse, Keita, Fofana, Sankoh
5.46pmMALI XI: Berthe Tamboura, Coulibaly, Yatabare, Sylla, Keita, Diakite, N'Diaye, Diaby, Wague, Maiga
5.47pmGUINEA SUBS: Zayatte, Camara, Landel, Sylla, L Camara, Kamano, Diarra, A Camara, Tamsir, Keita, Soumah
5.48pmMALI SUBS: Diawara, Coulibaly, Doumbia, Traore, Sako, Diarra, S Coulibaly, S Diarra, Yatabare, Konate, A Traore, Samake
5.52pmInterestingly, Wolves winger Bakary Sako, who struck Mali's opener against Ivory Coast last week, has been left out of the first XI, while Seydouba Soumah has also been dropped to the bench. There's surely good reasons behind these omissions because a) Sako netted a fine goal against Ivory Coast, and b) Soumah was Guinea's top goalscorer in qualifying.
5.55pmRight, both sets of players make their way on to the field and we'll have the national anthems shortly. I was really impressed with Senegal's national anthem yesterday; it could've been composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber! Hopefully we'll have another decent tune to provide the soundtrack to this one.
5.58pmIncidentally, I'll be keeping you up to date with any goals that we may see in Malabo tonight, with Cameroon and Ivory Coast going head to head over there.
6.01pmWe're just waiting for the referee to synchronise with the ref in Malabo because both games have to start at the exact same time. No rush mate.
1 minKICKOFF: Aaaaaaaaaaaand we're off. Guinea, in a red shirt, yellow shorts and green socks, look quite colorful tonight.
3 minSHOT! Mali are up for this, as Abdoulaye Diaby, recalled to the first XI, very nearly vindicates his coach immediately as he beats Camara before flashing a fierce strike just wide of Germain Berthe's post. Fine effort.
5 minCLOSE! More pressure from Mali as Guinea fail to deal with a dangerous free kick, and it was Diaby again as he looked to turn the ball home from close range, but it gets deflected narrowly wide. Great start by Diaby and Mali to this one.
8 minLike a man with no nose, Guinea haven't had a sniff here as of yet. They launched a decent counter-attack there, but the final ball let them down, but we've seen nothing from them by way of goalmouth action as of yet. Mali are the lowest FIFA-ranked nation in Group D, but they're by far the better team so far.
10 minJust a reminder that victory for one of these two teams will see progress into the quarters, while the same is true for the game in Malabo where Cameroon face the Ivory Coast.
12 minPENALTY APPEAL! Honestly, where did FIFA find these referees? It's like they read through the classifieds because the standard is so poor. This is a penalty, and a red card, but the Egyptian official has wave away. Yatabare looks like he's going to get a chance on goal after Sankoh misjudged a long cross, but before the Mali striker can get a shot away, Fode Camara bundles him over and the keeper takes the ball. It's a penalty, but it's not. Madness.
14 minPENALTY TO GUINEA!!! You couldn't make it up. Guinea should've had a penalty awarded against them a moment ago, but now they have one after Salif Coulibaly handled in the box. Good decision, though.
15 minGOAL!!!!! GUINEA 1-0 MALI (Kevin Constant)
16 minWhat an outstanding penalty, considering the pressure. Constant, once of AC Milan, steps up and only pulls out one of those Panenka penalties and dinks it straight down the middle. Brilliant.
17 minPENALTY TO MALI!!!!!!!
18 minWhat a madcap last few minutes. Mali, who should have had a penalty a few minutes ago, before having one awarded against them, now win a spotkick after Sylla handled in the area. Another good decision. It's going to be Seydou Keita.
19 minPENALTY SAVED!!!! This is an astonishing few minutes. Keita, once of Barcelona and now of Roma, executes arguably the worst penalty you're likely to see in a major competition. It's an absolute stinker, and Yattara makes a comfortable save.
22 minWe've gone two minutes without a major incident thankfully, which gives us time to catch our breath. But yeah, what a poor penalty from Keita and Mali, despite being the better side, are trailing 1-0. We gave the referee a bit of stick for not awarding that first peno, but he made up for it with two really good decisions. Fair play to him, but Guinea should've had Fode Camara sent off, so from a Mali perspective it wasn't a case of justice being done.
26 minIt's still all Mali, who haven't looked bothered by that penalty miss in the slightest. They're still bossing this one and, having seen four 1-1 draws in Group D so far, we could yet see another. It couldn't happen, could it?
29 minGuinea, as it stands, are the only side in Group D heading into the quarters. It's still 0-0 in Malabo. Mind you, City fans won't mind seeing Ivory Coast go out, will they? They've got Chelsea on Saturday and they might need Yaya Toure for that one. They could do with Wilfried Bony, too!
33 minGuinea, who have been outplayed for the first half-hour or so, are coming into it a little more now and a good last 15 minutes might see them double their lead at the break. What a huge step into the quarters that would be, but they still look a little light up front.
35 minSAVE! Very decent from Naby Yattara, who tips over Modibo Maiga's stinging shot. Mali's best chance, apart from the penalty, which really was dreadful. I've just seen it again. We've seen the best and worst penalty of the AFCON thus far, with Constant's Panenka a joy to watch.
37 minUPDATE: As it stands Ivory Coast and Guinea are heading into the quarters, as Max Gradel bags a wonderful opener against Cameroon in Malabo. Pick that one out.
40 minFive minutes to half time then and it's well poised for two more 1-1 draws believe it or not. In the event of that truly bizarre, but very realistic prospect, we'd be drawing lots (or picking names out of a bowl in Layman's terms) to determine who advances to the knockout rounds.
44 minMali are finishing the half as strongly as they began, but running into the same problems as they struggle to break down this Guinea defence. Looks like they're going into the break trailing.
6.48pmHALF TIME: GUINEA 1-0 MALI
6.50pmThat's all she wrote in a bizarre first-half here in Mongomo then. Kevin Constant opened the scoring with a delightful Panenka penalty, while Seydou Keita fluffed his lines from 12 yards about a minute later with the worst penalty you'll see for ages.
6.52pmGuinea and Ivory Coast are the two teams moving into the quarters, by the way, with Ivory Coast beating Cameroon 1-0 as it stands.
Here's how we look:
GUINEA - 5
IVORY COAST - 5
CAMEROON - 2
MALI - 2
7.00pmHere's that that cheeky Panenka from Constant, by the way. I can't find Keita's, which is probably a good thing because I've just eaten.
Kevin Constant has put Guinea in front against Mali with a tasty dink from the penalty spot https://t.co/AluZWeNGmT
— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) January 28, 20157.06pmThis is getting tedious. We're ready to rock and roll in Mongomo, but we're waiting to synchronise kickoff with Ivory Coast and Cameroon. FIFA couldn't organise a you know what in a brewery.
45 minRESTART! Right, so we're back underway and what a massive 45 minutes we've got ahead. As it stands, Guinea and Ivory Coast heading through to the quarters. Have I mentioned that yet?
47 minGOAL!!!! GUINEA 1-1 MALI (Modibo Maiga)
48 minWhat a start from Mali as Abdoulaye Diaby stands up a fantastic cross, and Maiga had the easiest of headers to nod home from close range. Great work from Diaby, who has been excellent it must be said. Back in the team this evening, and if Mali go through to the quarters then he's going to start that one, too.
50 minThe good news is that Mali have thoroughly deserved their equaliser. The bad news is that it's 1-1, and if stays like that, and Cameroon draw 1-1 with Ivory Coast, then we'll be picking names out of a hat essentially because all SIX group D games will have ended 1-1. As it stands, Mali and Guinea are drawing lots for second place.
53 minMali want this and Naby Yattara is forced into a decent save as Mamoutou N'Diaye drives a fine shot from outside the box, but the Guinea keeper beats away the near-post strike. We haven't seen anything from Guinea in this half as of yet.
56 minWhy is Keita Mali's go-to-guy when it comes to set pieces? He can't take a penalty firstly, but his delivery from corners and free kicks just hasn't been good enough as another opportunity goes begging.
58 minSUB: We've seen our first change, and it's Guinea as Issiaga Sylla makes way for Paye Tamsir.
60 minMaiga has been brilliant in this half so far, and the ex-West Ham man has just ghosted down the left wing and delivered a brilliant cross, but Guinea get it away. He's already drawn Mali level, and you get the impression that he could have a big say in their quarter-final hopes.
62 minSUB: Another Guinea sub as Seydouba Soumah comes on to replace Ibrahima Traore. Incidentally, Soumah was their top goalscorer in qualifying, so he's certainly one that Mali will have to watch very closely.
65 minJust a reminder that, as it stands, we're drawing lots for second place in Group D, with Ivory Coast topping the group at the moment. I'm not sure how this procedure is going to take place, if it comes to it, but I'll do my best to find out.
67 minWhat a massive block this is, as Salif Coulibaly, who conceded the penalty, makes a crucial intervention to prevent Guinea moving through one-on-one with Germain Berthe. Massive.
70 minAre Guinea playing to draw lots? They literally haven't gone anywhere near Mali's danger zone apart from that through ball a moment ago, and overall it's such a lethargic performance from a team who look keen to draw lots. Madness.
73 minSUB: Now then it looks like Wolves ace Bakary Sako is coming on for Mali. Sako scored a fantastic goal in the 1-1 draw with Ivory Coast a few days ago, so could he be the man to fire them into the quarters? He comes on for Abdoulaye Diaby, who's actually been very decent.
75 min15 minutes left then and we're going to a glorified coin toss as it stands. Yep, we're set to draw lots if this one ends 1-1 because five of the six games will have ended 1-1, with Ivory Coast beating Cameroon 1-0. Even there, just one goal for Cameroon and we're drawing lots for all four teams. Absolutely bizarre.
78 minGuinea have been so very poor in this half. Mali, the lowest FIFA-ranked team in Group D, have bossed them all night. It'd be harsh on Mali to be eliminated based on chance, but this is the reality.
81 minRight, we've got a free kcik in a decent chance now as Mali winger Bakary Sako looks to be the hero. Let's see what comes of it....
83 minAfter much deliberation, it was Keita in the end and the Roma midfielder watches the wall scupper his chance for glory. Lord only knows how he found himself on set piece duty. Between penalties and free kicks, he's been truly poor.
85 minMongomo might have a gopher problem because the ball is bobbling here there and everywhere due to a number of divots on the field. Five minutes left, but the pitch it making it pretty hard for either side to introduce a bit of fluency.
87 minGuinea could snatch this, which would be criminal, but they've got a chance to whip in a free kick now so let's see what happens. This would be so cruel.
88 minNope. Soumah, very much like Keita a few minutes ago, just fires a free kick into the wall. Such an anti climax. Just a reminder that five of the six games in Group B will end 1-1 if it stays the way it is. Guinea and Mali are going to draw lots to determine who progresses into the quarters as runners-up, with Ivory Coast beating Cameroon 1-0.
90 + 1 minTHREE MINUTES ADDED ON:
7.55pmFULL TIME: GUINEA 1-1 MALI
7.57pmWell, that's it. Ivory Coast beat Cameroon 1-0 to win Group D, but it'll be a case of luck to see who joins them in the quarters as lots will be drawn at CAF's hotel tomorrow morning to determine if Guinea or Mali advance into the last eight. Crazy. There's such a flat atmosphere, which is understandable because one of these sides will be eliminated on essentially a coin toss.
7.59pmAnywho, thanks for joining our live commentary, and I'm just a bit sorry that there's no closure for us, or either side. Shame, but they're the rules. Lots will be drawn tomorrow to determine who joins Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals. May the odds be forever in their favour.
