Hugo Broos laments bad luck after Bafana Bafana AFCON exit
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Ten-man Mali battle into AFCON quarter-finals with shootout win over Tunisia
The match was shaped by early incidents and significant team selection decisions. Mali restored Amadou Dante, Woyo Coulibaly, Aliou Dieng, Mamadou Sangare and Lassine Coulibaly to the starting line-up, with Nene Dorgeles initially named on the bench.
Tunisia, meanwhile, welcomed back Ferjani Sassi but dropped Elias Achouri from the starting side.
Tunisia made a bright start, registering the first shot of the contest inside the opening minute through Ismael Gharbi. However, their plans were disrupted when an injury-enforced substitution was required after just 10 minutes, with Yassine Meriah replacing Dylan Bronn.
The game then took a decisive turn in the 26th minute when Mali's Woyo Coulibaly was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge, handing the Carthage Eagles a numerical advantage.
Despite the dismissal, the remainder of the first half produced few clear-cut chances. Mali emerged from the interval with renewed intent and continued to press despite being a man down.
Substitute Nene Dorgeles fired over from distance after a forward pass, while Amadou Dante narrowly missed the target with a free-kick. Tunisia struggled to fully impose themselves for much of the second half.
The breakthrough finally arrived late on, when Firas Chaouat headed Tunisia into the lead in the 88th minute, finding the bottom corner after beating the last defender to a floated cross.
However, Mali struck back in dramatic fashion, earning a late penalty for handball in the box, which Lassine Sinayoko converted to force extra-time.
Chaouat missed a chance to restore Tunisia's lead during extra-time, and the contest was decided by penalties.
Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra starred in the shoot-out before Bilal Touré converted the decisive kick to send Mali through to the last eight.
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