Molla Wague helped restore Mali's pride after a 6-0 battering at the hands of Morocco on Friday, holding the same opposition 0-0 on home soil but still falling to the bottom of their World Cup Qualifying group last night.

Wague played the full 90 minutes, receiving a booking in injury time, as his side secured a second stalemate from four World Cup qualifiers, but one which left them on four points from as many games, and all but out of contention for top spot in their group.

The new Watford defender said after the game: "We wanted to raise our heads after the first leg, which was very hard for us in Morocco, and today we wanted to please the Malian people with victory but we did not know how to score the goal we needed.

"We did concede a goal though, as it was the most important in this encounter after the 6-0 to not do so. We have not managed to please the Malian people. But we will continue to work and I hope we will have better days."

Elsewhere Andre Carrillo missed a good chance for Peru in their South American section qualifier at Ecuador, but was not made to rue the mistake for long as goals from Edison Flores and Paolo Hurtado, who replaced the Hornets winger for the final 16 minutes, secured a 2-1 win.

He should have profited when Yoshimar Yotun's first-half free-kick left Ecuador goalkeeper Maximo Banguera on the floor, but former West Ham forward Enner Valencia blocked his effort with the goal gaping.

Carrillo has made headlines overnight in his home country for his celeberation of Flores' opener, with the two embracing and unintentionally forming '2018' from the numbers on the back of their international shirts.

An image of the two together has gone viral on Facebook in Peru, according to media in the South American nation, as fans dream of reaching a World Cup finals for the first time since 1982.

Their latest victory - and fifth in succession - lifted them above Argentina in the qualifying table and into fourth place with two games to go. If they can keep that position, it would be enough to secure an automatic place in Russia next summer.