TheCable

Mali continued their fairytale runs at the FIFA U-20 World Cup after they booked their place in semi-finals with a 4-3 win on penalties over Germany following a 1-1 draw in regulation time.

Julian Brandt put Germany ahead in the 38th minute, but Souleymane Coulibaly’s header levelled things up, leaving the sides level for an hour. It then went into penalty shootout.

Both teams scored their first three penalties, before missing their fourth.

German goalkeeper Marvin Schwaebe dived to his left to keep out Adama Traore’s attempt.

Brandt then fired his shot over the crossbar.

Mali clinched their spot in the semi-final when German defender Niklas Stark blasted his penalty wide, needing to score.

Mali will play the winner of Serbia and United States in the last four.

Brazil also prevailed on penalties to reach the semi-finals after a 0-0 draw with Portugal at Hamilton’s Waikato Stadium.

Like the match itself, the shootout was defined by wayward Portuguese shooting.

The Europeans looked to have the initiative after Brazil’s Lucao was the first to miss, but subsequent failures from Andre Silva, Nuno Santos and a calamitous Panenka attempt by Raphael Guzzo left the South Americans to look forward to a last-four meeting with either Senegal or Uzbekistan.