Marie Ngah Manga scored her third goal of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations with a first-half penalty as Cameroon defeated Ghana 1-0 in Casablanca to take control of Group D, while Mali beat Cape Verde 3-2 to ensure the islanders become the first team eliminated from the competition.
Cameroon, on six points, become the first team to qualify for the quarterfinals, and advance as Group D winners, while Ghana's meeting with Mali in Casablanca on Thursday now becomes a straight shootout for second place. A draw would be enough for the Black Queens to progress given their superior goal difference heading into that winner-takes-all showdown.
Ngah Manga rolled a calm 19th-minute penalty beyond Cynthia Konlan to give Cameroon an early lead after Bénédicte Simon handled in the box, with the Black Queens failing to equalise despite seeing more of the ball.
Overall, there was little to separate the sides during a cagey contest, although Ghana had chances to equalise, with Doris Boaduwaa firing a decent chance tamely at Michaely Bihina in the 27th minute.
Cameroon nearly had a second when captain Colette Ndzana sent a corner narrowly over the bar just after the half-hour mark, while Evelyn Badu's effort was straight at Bihina from close range after Chantelle Boye Hlorkah's scuffed effort landed at her feet with 30 minutes to play.
At the Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Mali dispatched debutants Cape Verde 3-2 to ensure the islanders became the first team officially eliminated from the tournament. This match was a rematch from the qualifiers, when Cape Verde prevailed to secure their first ever WAFCON berth, but here, Mali ensured they had the last laugh.
Oumou Kone opened the scoring for Mali in the 29th minute when the Eagles won the ball in midfield and the 26-year-old played a sharp one-two with Aïssata Traoré before finishing with a shot that dropped beneath Jacinta Rodrigues' bar.
Seven minutes later, Cape Verde were level, with Evy Pereira scoring their first ever goal at a WAFCON with a thumping close-range finish over Fatoumata Karentao as Mali failed to deal with Va Moreira's header towards the six-yard box.
Pereira, overcome with emotion at her historic goal, took out the corner flag with a kung-fu celebration after scoring, but Cape Verde were unable to retain their lead for long after the break.
Fatoumata Niakaté restored Mali's lead in the 50th minute following an extended VAR check after her initial finish was flagged for offside. However, replays demonstrated that Cape Verde captain Varsenia da Luz was playing on Niakate and the goal stood.
Fatoumata Diarra added a third for Mali 11 minutes from time, driving home at the near post after being played in by Orokia Sissoko, with the 40-year-old - one of several Eagles players lining up to score - finding herself in space as the Cape Verde defence began to tire.
Alivia Kelly pulled a goal back for Cape Verde in the 88th minute with an excellent backwards header for a Sasha Whanon corner to give the islanders hope of an unlikely point, but they ran out of steam across eight minutes of stoppage time as they failed to stave off early elimination.
"We are so happy for [the win]," Player of the Match Traore told CAF at the final whistle. "We did it together, we can just enjoy the victory and keep going.
"We can do everything," she concluded, "we keep going...and let's win the trophy."
