Mali have booked a place in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after defeating Tunisia 3-2 on penalties in their round of 16 match on Saturday.
Gatekeepers News reports that the ended 1-1 after regulation time and extra time, forcing a shootout where Mali held their nerve to knock out the North Africans.
Tunisia took the lead late in the game through Firas Chaouat, who headed home in the 88th minute after sustained pressure.
Despite playing most of the match with ten men following Woyo Coulibaly’s red card in the 26th minute for a reckless challenge on Hannibal Mejbri, Mali refused to give up.
Their persistence paid off deep into stoppage time when a handball by Yassine Meriah led to a penalty, calmly converted by Lassine Sinayoko to level the score.
Tunisia thought they had won it in extra time, but a goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check. The match then went to penalties, where Tunisia missed three kicks. El Bilal Touré scored the decisive penalty to seal Mali’s progression.
Mali have now reached the last eight without winning a match in normal time after four games at the tournament.
They will next face Senegal, who earlier defeated Sudan 3-1, with Pape Gueye scoring twice and Ibrahim Mbaye adding another goal.
