Mali eliminate Tunisia, to face Ivory Coast in semis

Sunday Tunisia 1-2 MaliZambia 0-0 Guinea (Pen. 4-5) ‘Underdogs’ Mali came from behind to beat favourites Tunisia 2-1 on Sunday at Kigali Regional Stadium to book a place in the semi-finals of the 2016 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) where they will face Ivory Coast. Hatem Missaoui’s in-form Tunisia took the lead in the 14th minute when midfielder Mohammed Ali Monser got a neat pass from Saad Bguir in the penalty box. But Mali equalized through Aliou Dieng in the 71st minute from a penalty spot after defender Zied Boughattas handled the ball in the forbidden area. The West Africans, who reached the quarter-finals after finishing second in Group D, behind Zambia, continued pressing and their pressure paid off in the 80th minute with a wonderful strike by Diarra Abdoulaye. “This is fantastic job. My team has shown that they can win against big teams. We still need to work hard for the next game” Mali head coach Djibril Drame said after the game. His Tunisia counterpart, Missaoui admitted that, “Mali were better than us physically in the second half. We tried to recover but we failed. We hope next time we will reach far in this tournament.” editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Mali eliminate Tunisia, to face Ivory Coast in semis