By

Eniola Olatunji 

 

The Eagles of Mali produced a stunning display of resilience on Saturday night in Casablanca, Morocco, defeating the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia 3–2 on penalties after a dramatic 1–1 draw at full time to book a place in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

 

Playing with ten men for over an hour, Mali thrilled a crowd of 41,982 fans and sent waves of excitement across West Africa with a performance built on discipline, grit, and outstanding goalkeeping. The victory sets up a mouth-watering quarterfinal encounter against reigning champions Senegal on January 9 in Tangier.

Tunisia appeared to have secured victory when Elias Saad floated a cross into the box in the 88th minute, allowing Club Africain striker Firas Chaouat to head home the opening goal. However, deep into stoppage time, Mali were handed a lifeline when South African referee Tom Abongile awarded a penalty after a foul in the box. Lassine Sinayoko calmly converted in the 90+6 minute to force extra drama and ignite the stadium.

 

With no further goals, the match went to penalties. Bilal Touré—on loan at Beşiktaş from Atalanta—stepped up to score the decisive kick after goals from Diakité and Sinayoko. Tunisia managed only two successful penalties through Meriah and Saad, while Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra saved spot kicks from Abdi and Achouri and watched others fly wide.

 

Diarra’s heroics earned him the Man of the Match award, capping a night in which he also denied Tunisia from open play on several occasions.

Mali’s task became far more difficult in the 26th minute when Wayo Coulibaly was shown a straight red card for stamping on a Tunisian opponent’s ankle. VAR reviewed and upheld the decision, forcing Mali to play the remainder of the match with ten men.

Despite heavy rain and visible exhaustion, the Malian players fought relentlessly, matching Tunisia physically and tactically while relying on collective effort and defensive organization.

 

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Tournament Background and Head-to-Head

 

Mali entered the knockout stage after three group-stage draws—goalless with Comoros, 1–1 with hosts Morocco, and 1–1 with Zambia. Tunisia drew 1–1 with Tanzania, lost 3–2 to Nigeria, and edged Uganda 3–2.

 

Historically, Mali and Tunisia have now met nine times, each recording three wins with three draws. Across those encounters, Tunisia have scored nine goals to Mali’s eight. At AFCON tournaments, they have met three times, with Mali winning once and drawing twice.