AFCON: Mali and Guinea to be separated by drawing lots as Ivory Coast top group

Mali's Seydou Keita (L) challenges Guinea's Boubacar Fofana during their 2015 African Cup of Nations Group D soccer match in Mongomo

Lots will be drawn to separate Mali and Guinea after they ended dead level in African Nations Cup Group D on Wednesday.

Mali captain Seydou Keita had a penalty saved at Estadio de Mongomo as the teams played out a third successive 1-1 draw and finished level on points, goal difference and goals scored in second place in the standings behind Ivory Coast.

The draw will be held in Malabo on Thursday, the Confederation of African Football said.

Ivory Coast finished top with a 1-0 win over Cameroon in Malabo which eliminated the losers.

Kevin Constant's 15th-minute penalty put Guinea ahead at halftime but Modibo Maiga equalised for Mali shortly after the break.

Two penalties were awarded inside two minutes by referee Said Kordi of Tunisia early in the game.

He waved play on for the first one before suddenly changing his mind and penalising Salif Coulibaly, who replays showed to have handled the ball with his arm out in a defensive position.

Constant took the kick and with a cheeky chip put Guinea ahead but just a minute later Modibo Maiga's strongly-hit cross was handled by Issiaga Sylla at the other end of the field and this time the referee had no hesitation.

But veteran Keita, in his seventh Nations Cup, hit a weak spot that Naby Yattara saved.

Maiga spared the captain's blushes with a headed goal two minutes into the second half as he was unmarked at back post to convert a cross from Abdoulaye Diaby.

Twice before the Nations Cup finals have turned to the cruel lottery to determine the fate of teams level after the first round.

The Ivorians lost out to Algeria at the 1988 finals in Morocco after both sides finished on three points.

But had the same scenario played out under modern rules, Algeria would have gone through as their three points came from a win, draw and loss in the era when just two points were awarded for a victory. The Ivorians drew all three group games in 1988.

Congo advanced to the semi-finals in 1972 after they were level with Morocco on points and goal difference after the first round when just eight teams competed at the finals.

But they had scored five goals to Morocco's three at a time when the number of goals scored was not considered a tie breaker.

Congo went on to win the tournament.