Cameroon and Mali crashed out of the African Nations Championship (Chan) on Tuesday as the group phase in Algeria came to a shock-riddled climax.

Two-time runners-up Mali needed only a score draw against Mauritania to top Group D, but lost 1-0 with Mamadou Sy scoring the 53rd-minute goal that took his country to the quarterfinals.

Cameroon, who hosted the previous edition and came fourth, also needed only one point to finish first in Group E, but fell 1-0 to Niger, who snatched top spot.

The competition for footballers playing with clubs in their country of birth now takes a two-day break before the quarterfinals.

On Friday, title favourites Algeria face the Ivory Coast in Algiers and Senegal meet west African neighbours Mauritania in Annaba.

Madagascar play Mozambique in Constantine and Niger tackle two-time runners-up Ghana in Oran on Saturday.

None of the eight survivors have won the Chan with Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo twice each and Tunisia and Libya lifting the trophy in the six previous tournaments.

After Algeria and Senegal predictably topped Groups A and B last weekend, minnows have captured the headlines with Madagascar winning Group C on Monday.

Before facing Mali, Mauritania had lost all six matches in two other appearances, and fought a goalless draw with Angola in Algeria last week.

That automatically made them underdogs against Mali, whose proud Chan record included reaching the 2016 and 2020 finals.

But the Mauritanians never allowed the Malians to settle in the first match of a double-header in the western city of Oran and Sy outjumped Souleymane Coulibaly to nod the match-winner.

Following a dour draw with Congo Brazzaville, Niger were given little chance of stopping Cameroon, who were watched by football federation president and former superstar Samuel Eto’o.

Cameroon had looked likelier to score until the match was turned on its head in the 69th minute as an Ousseini Badamassi free-kick deflected off Thomas Bawak into the net.

Needing an equaliser to survive, Cameroon lay siege to the Nigerien goalmouth, but several poorly-taken free-kicks summed up a night to forget for the central Africans.

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper said on Monday his side will take the attack to Manchester United in this week’s League Cup semifinals.

Cooper’s side host United in the first leg on Wednesday, then travel to Old Trafford for the decisive second leg one week later.

With Forest regarded as under-dogs against star-studded United, it would be easily for Cooper to adopt a defensive game-plan in the hope of nicking a narrow victory.

But Cooper said he would tell his players to go on the offensive at the City Ground.

“It’s not been an easy ride for sure to get to the semifinal, and we’ve treated it like every other game, one we want to do well in and win,” Cooper told reporters.

“It’s a semifinal, we really want to commit to it, we really want to attack it. Obviously, it’s Man United, it’s over two legs, incredibly tough games – but ones we want to have no regrets about.

“We’re in the semifinal of an important cup. I think we should go into it thinking they don’t come along very often, so treat it like it might be the last one.

“There’s a real good feeling about the semifinal in the city, the stadium will obviously be the atmosphere that it’s been every single game so far this season, which has been incredible, and we should really embrace that.”

Forest played United in the league in December, losing 3-0 at Old Trafford, and Cooper was not happy with his team’s lack of confidence on that occasion.

He wants a more up-tempo display this time.

“We felt that we didn’t play with enough belief and courage in the game,” he said.

“It was going to be hard whatever, and we might have played better and still got nothing out of the game.

“But we did walk off the pitch thinking we could have done a bit better there, and I don’t want that in these games, I don’t want any regrets.

“We’re feeling a good pressure of wanting to do well, and I just want to make sure we go into the games with a real positive mindset, I want the players to believe they can succeed.

“We have to believe we can play well in this game and that we can have a positive contribution.”

Eddie Howe has warned Newcastle United not to get carried away after they moved within touching distance of the League Cup final with a 1-0 win against Southampton in Tuesday’s semi-final first leg.

Joelinton netted in the second half at St Mary’s to put the Magpies on the brink of their first domestic Cup final since 1999, while Southampton’s Duje Caleta-Car was sent off in the closing stages as a feisty clash boiled over.

Nathan Jones’ team, bottom of the Premier League, felt hard done by after Adam Armstrong’s equaliser was disallowed by VAR for handball.

But Newcastle can book their long-awaited trip to Wembley in the second leg at St James’ Park next Tuesday, with the winner facing Manchester United or Nottingham Forest in the final.

Forest host United in the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday, with the result not available at press time.

Newcastle boss Howe is not taking anything for granted yet, however.

“It’s been a good day but there’s still a long way to go in the tie. Pleased to win, that was our aim, but we know 1-0 is delicate,” he said.

“It was a tough game. I thought both teams had their moments. Nothing is decided. We go back to St James’ with our fans behind us.”

Admitting Newcastle were fortunate to avoid conceding Armstrong’s disallowed equaliser, he added: “I thought it was a goal. Very pleased to see VAR intervene.”

The VAR intervention and several fine saves from goalkeeper Nick Pope means Newcastle have kept 16 clean sheets in all competitions this season, two more than any other side in Europe’s big five leagues, including 10 in their last 11 games.

“We controlled the game but we missed big chances,” Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes told Sky Sports.

“It’s just the first game now we need to think about the next one. I’m proud of the team today.

“One goal is important, we could score more but the most important was to be one goal in front of Southampton. I want to thank Nick Pope, I think he’s the best goalkeeper in the world. Let’s keep it going.”

Newcastle are enjoying a renaissance this season thanks to Howe’s astute leadership and the financial investment of the club’s Saudi-backed ownership group.

The Magpies sit third in the Premier League and are making their first domestic semi-final appearance since 2005.

Underlining Newcastle’s new, confident attitude, Howe had said merely reaching a semi-final was “not enough” as he aims to win the club’s first major domestic trophy since the 1955 FA Cup.

The Magpies’ most recent domestic Cup final ended in defeat against United in the 1999 FA Cup, with their last major silverware coming in the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

For Newcastle, this is their most promising period since the Kevin Keegan era in the 1990s and they left the south coast having taken another step on the road back to relevance.

Southampton manager Jones, meanwhile, rued his side’s missed opportunities in what he felt was a close game.

“It is a game of margins,” he told Sky Sports. “We are so close to being a good side. We have to start taking our chances and stop conceding silly goals.

“It is not about now or the next game, it is about building something we can be proud of.”