Mali will battle Korea DPR in Talca  on tomorrow, for a place in the quarterfinals of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The ‘Aiglonnets’ earned their spot in the round of 16 of the showpiece event after finishing top of Group D on seven points, with a goalless draw against Belgium in their campaign opener followed by back-to-back victories over Ecuador and Honduras.

Already quarterfinalists in Egypt in 1997 and in Trinidad and Tobago in 2001, the West Africans are targeting a top-four finish in Chile to emulate the Under-20 national team.

“This is a long journey that began a while ago in the African qualifying and now we have finished in the first position in our group,” Mali coach Baye Ba said.

“Mali finished in third position in U-20 finals that took place some months ago in New Zealand and this is our goal too: be in the four best teams of this tournament.”

And to reach their objective, Ba can rely on an impressive attacking power with the likes of Aly Malle, Sidiki Maiga, Boubacar Traoré and Sékou Koita.

Meanwhile, the North Koreans crawled into the knockout stage thanks to a top-four third-place finish, following a dramatic stoppage-time 2-1 win over Costa Rica in their final Group E outing.

“We have shown our ability to play. This win gives us confidence,” North Korea coach Yon Kwang Mu said after the huge morale boost.

“I think we have knowledge of African football after having faced South Africa in this group.”

The game will kick off at Estadio Fiscal at  22h00  CAT  on Thursday, with the winners to face Croatia or Germany in the quarterfinals.