Tunis, Tunisia - Mali and Senegal drew 1-1 on Monday, qualifying both teams for the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations.
Mali, playing without standout Frederic Kanoute, took the lead in the 33rd minute when Dramane Traore headed a free kick home from 11 metres out while goalkeeper Tony Sylva could only watch the ball go in off the post.
Senegal got back in the match on the stroke of halftime when Olympique Marseille defender Habib Beye lunged at a free kick from Henri Camera and flicked the ball past Mahamadou Sidibe.
The result allowed Mali to win Group B with seven points, two ahead of Senegal. Kenya beat Burkina Faso 3-0 in Bizerte and finished with three points, and Burkina Faso with one.
Senegal will now play host Tunisia in Saturday's quarterfinals, while Mali plays Guinea.
Mali had already qualified after winning its first two games, but Senegal still needed a draw to ensure a quarterfinal spot.
So far in the Cup, Senegal has not yet rekindled the memories of its sparkling World Cup performance two years ago, when it beat defending champion France en route to the quarterfinals.
It did just enough on Monday to rob Mali of its perfect first-round record.
The match was billed as a battle royale between Tottenham Hotspur's Kanoute and double African Player of the Year El Hadji Diouf, but Mali decided to rest Kanoute for the quarterfinals.
Kanoute's replacement, Traore, did well, scoring the opener.
At the other end, Diouf had another frustrating day and still has not scored in the tournament. Diouf was fouled often and hard, denying him an opportunity to get a grasp on the match.
It was not for lack of opportunities. In the fourth minute, he missed an easy volley from close range.
In the 22nd, he was unmarked on the left and shot, but Sidibe had no trouble containing the weak attempt.
Three minutes ahead of halftime, the Liverpool striker was again unmarked and from seven metres out he still could not get his volley past the goalkeeper. Instead, Senegal had to count on defender Beye to get a breakthrough.
Mali could have gone ahead in the 26th minute when Abdoulaye Demba pushed the ball through Tony Sylva's legs on a break but Lamine Diatta rushed back in time to kick the ball off the line.
In the second half, Diouf fell back somewhat and turned into provider for Mamadou Niang in the 50th minute, but Sidibe pulled off a great save to deny the striker.
In a rare flash of brilliance, Diouf created himself space from nothing in the penalty area but his left-foot drive crashed against the post.
- Lineups:
Mali:
Mahamadou Sidibe; Sammy Traore, Fousseiny Diawara, Souleymane Diamoutene, Adama Coulibaly; Mahamadou Diarra, Seydou Keita, David Coulibaly (60, Djibril Sidibe), Mohamed Lamine Sissoko (76, Bassala Toure); Abdoulaye Demba (83, Soumaila Coulibaly), Dramane Traore.
Senegal:
Tony Sylva; Ibrahim Faye, Malick Pape Diop, Souleymane Diawara, Lamine Diatta, Habib Beye; Sylvain Ndiaye (80, Ousmane N'Doye), Salif Diao, Pape Bouba Diop; Henri Camara, El Hadji Diouf, Mamadou Niang (65, Lamine Sakho). - Sapa-AP