Malis medal hopes are hanging by a thread after they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Japan at the Stade de Bordeaux in the Olympic Games on Saturday, July 27. Rihito Yamamotos solitary strike on 82 minutes settled this Group D clash as Go Oiwas side made it two wins from two to qualify for the quarter-finals. The Eagles had picked up a point from their opening match after playing out to a 1-1 draw with Israel three days earlier and they made a bright start in Bordeaux. Thiemoko Diarra got off a shot from a tight angle on the left in the 11th minute and Leobrian Kokubo stuck out his leg to make a save at his near post. Kokubo ensured the two teams went into the break at level pegging when he got his fingertips to Ahmed Diomands long-range strike on 44 minutes to push the ball behind for a corner. The Japan goalkeeper was called into action again on 62 minutes as he denied Diarra in a one-on-one, while Cheickna Doumbia was a whisker away from breaking the deadlock nine minutes later when his header hit the woodwork. Kokubos saves proved crucial as Yamamoto opened the scoring with eight minutes left on the clock. Kein Satos initial effort from inside the area had been saved by Lassine Diarra, but the Sint-Truiden midfielder followed up to slot the ball home. Mali almost scored a late equaliser, but Demba Diallo saw his shot come back off the crossbar from a 92nd-minute corner and they were presented with another chance level matters moments later from the spot after VAR awarded them a penalty for handball. However, Doumbia sent his spot-kick just to the left of the target in the dying seconds of the game to hand Japan all three points.
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