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The first upset of the Africa Cup of Nations: Mali eliminates Tunisia on penalties

The Malian national team eliminated Tunisia from the Round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after winning 3-2 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw after extra time at the Mohammed V Stadium.

Everything seemed to point towards a victory for the Carthage Eagles in Casablanca, especially after Coulibaly received a red card in the 26th minute, leaving Mali with ten men for the remainder of the match.

Tunisia squandered chance after chance until Firas Chaouat finally broke the deadlock in the 89th minute, giving Sami Trabelsi’s men the lead. Everyone thought the game was over, and the Carthage Eagles had indeed qualified for the Round of 16.

However, in the 94th minute, Mali were awarded a penalty after a shot struck Yassine Meriah’s hand. Lassine Sénaïko converted the spot-kick past Aymen Dahmen, despite the Tunisian goalkeeper initially making the save.

The match went to extra time, where Tunisia missed further opportunities and failed to capitalize on Mali’s numerical disadvantage, ultimately leading to a penalty shootout.

Although Tunisia started brightly, with Mali missing two of their first three penalties, Ilyes Achouri, Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, and Ali Abdi all missed their spot-kicks, while Bilel Touré converted the decisive penalty, giving Mali a 3-2 victory.

With this victory, Mali will face its neighbor Senegal next Friday at 6 pm Egypt time.