Mali qualified for the quarter-finals of the CAN. Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet was very emotional on the sidelines.
Mali achieved a monumental feat on Saturday evening in Casablanca. The team played with ten men for almost the entire match after the exclusion of The. Tunisia opened the scoring in the 88th minute, the players of Tom Saintfiet equalized from the penalty spot in the final seconds of added time.
Until the end
The suspense continued until the end of the night with a penalty shootout. Mali started its series badly, then took advantage of Tunisian errors to regain the advantage. Bilal Toure delivered his people by scoring his shot, sending his teammates to the quarter-finals.
The players had to draw on their reserves to compensate for the lack of a man on the field. On paper, it was Tunisia who were the favorites.
The Belgian coach leaves Casablanca with a united group, marked by this match, and ready to fight against anyone. He declared on the microphone of BeIN Sports: “My team played very well, we had confidence and I am very proud. We had discipline.”
The next meeting will take place on January 9 in Tangier, against Senegal. A big chunk, but after what they have just experienced, the Malians can believe it.
