Mali has qualified for the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations. Opponent Tunisia played with one man more for a long time and seemed to take advantage of this in the final phase, but Lassine Sinayoko ensured extra time deep in injury time. There was no scoring. In the penalty series, Tunisia missed three times, and Mali, which will face Senegal in the quarter-finals, missed twice.
There was little real football in the first half hour. The teams went hard and after 25 minutes both countries had already collected two yellow cards. A little later, red was even drawn. Woyo Coulibaly hit his opponent’s ankle and was given an immediate red card.
Tunisia enjoyed possession of the ball with eleven against ten, but the opponent of the Dutch team at the World Cup later this year made an extremely poor impression in terms of attack.
Opportunities were also particularly scarce for Tunisia in the second half. Shots from trendsetter Hannibal Mejbri and Elias Saad were not enough to pass the Malian goalkeeper Djigui Diarra.
One was coming, when in minute 89 everything seemed to change. Saad scooped the ball perfectly to Firas Chaouat, who escaped his direct opponents and headed home: 0-1.
Deep into injury time, Mali pumped the ball forward one more time. Defender Yassine Meriah made hands and referee Abongile Tom pointed to the spot. Lassine Sinayoko scored through the hands of goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen: 1-1.
There had to be extra time in Casablanca and no goals were scored. In the penalty series, Spurs midfielder Yves Bissouma recorded the first miss, after which Ali Abdi also shot over.
Dorgeles Nene was the next to miss with his shot against the post, after which Elias Achouri and Mohamed Ben Romdhane saw their attempts saved by Diarra. El Bilal Touré then scored the decisive penalty.
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