AFCON 2025: Ten-man Mali fight back to eliminate Tunisia

In the Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 clash, Mali faced Tunisia under dramatic circumstances.

By the 26th minute, Mali were down to ten men, conceded a late goal in the 88th minute to go 0–1 down, yet somehow emerged as the winner.

It was an incredible twist of fate and a testament to the fanatic persistence of Mali’s players and coach Tom Saintfiet, who got soaked to the skin while directing his defense from the touchline as if he were on the pitch himself.

Mali first forced extra time with a penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time, holding the score at 1–1 until the shootout.

There, Tanzanian Young Africans goalkeeper Djigui Diarra became the hero, saving two crucial penalties.

He denied Elias Ashouri of Copenhagen and Mohamed Ben Romdhane of Al Ahly, helping Mali win the shootout 3–2 after five rounds.

Mali will face Senegal in the quarterfinals. Remarkably, Diarra, who plays in a modest Tanzanian league, saved a penalty from Ashouri, a regular Champions League player this season, and then another from African club powerhouse Al Ahly’s Ben Romdhane.

As expected by keen followers of African football, this was a tough, low-chance game with minimal risk-taking from both sides.

The first shot on target did not come until the 79th minute, when Diarra saved a free-kick and pushed it over the crossbar for a corner.

Mali had been numerically even only until the 26th minute, when Sassuolo defender Wojo Coulibaly committed a serious error by stepping directly on Barnsley player Hannibal Mejbri’s ankle in a harmless area.

The Barnsley midfielder escaped injury by sheer luck, but Coulibaly was rightly shown a red card for the unsporting act.

With ten men, Mali defended extremely well, and Tunisia dominated possession and attacked, but the West Africans prevented any clear-cut chances.

Then, in the 88th minute, Tunisia unexpectedly scored.

Substitute Firas Chaouat capitalized on a lapse by Mali center-back Ousmane Camara, who wrongly assumed the Tunisian attacker was offside.

Standing still, Camara allowed Chaouat to head the ball unchallenged into the net.

VAR confirmed there was no offside, highlighting the mistake of the 23-year-old Angers defender.

The miracle came in the third minute of stoppage time. After a scramble in Tunisia’s box, the ball deflected high into the air and landed on the hand of Yassine Meriah.

VAR reviewed the incident for six to seven minutes before awarding a penalty.

Lassine Sinayoko calmly converted it, sending the game into extra time.

Mali endured the extra periods and then triumphed in the penalty shootout. Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma and Fenerbahce’s Nene Dorgeles missed their kicks, while Sinayoko, Gaoussou Diakite, and El Bilal Toure scored, clinching the 3–2 shootout victory for Mali.

AFCON 2025 - ROUND OF 16

Saturday

Senegal - Sudan 3-1 (2-1)

/Gueye 29, 45+3, Mbaye 77 - Abdallah 6/

Mali - Tunisia 1-1 (3-2 after penalties)

/Sinayoko 90+6 pen - Chaouat 88/

Sunday

19.00: (1.15) Morocco (8.50) Tanzania (25.0)

22.00: (3.25) South Africa (3.15) Cameroon (2.50)

Monday

19.00: (1.48) Egypt (4.10) Benin (7.50)

22.00: (1.40) Nigeria (4.50) Mozambique (8.50)

Tuesday

19.00: (2.00) Algeria (3.35) DR Congo (4.00)

22.00: (1.90) Ivory Coast (3.40) Burkina Faso (4.30)

***odds are subject to change***