Mali became the first country to defend the Africa U17 Championship after beating pre-tournament favourites Ghana 1-0 in Libreville on Sunday.
Black Starlets coach Paa Kwesi Fabin made two changes to the line up to the squad that beat Niger in the semifinals stage, with Edmund Arko Mensah and Bismark Terry Owusu making way for Najeeb Yakubu and Gideon Acquah respectively.
Mali had the better of the exchanges in the 12th edition of the Africa juvenile tournament finals as they squandered close shave chances that came their way.
Le Aiglonnets were awarded a penalty in the 22nd minutes following defender Gideon Otu's late tackle on Ibrahim Kone.
However, Sekou Camara's penalty was saved by Danlad Ibrahim but Mamadou Samake's rebound opened the score for Mali, which was the first goal Ghana had conceded in the tournament in five matches.
The Black Starlets came in strongly in the second half as they went in search of the leveller but too late as Mali held their own to keep the title they won two years ago in Niger.
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