Bundesliga at AFCON: End of tournament for Skhiri and Augsburg duo
| Premature exit for Skhiri's Tunisia | Richard Pelham/Getty Images |
Mali will face Senegal in the first quarter-final of AFCON after a penalty shootout victory against Tunisia on Saturday. The physical game needed lots of VAR interventions, as well as debatable calls from the referee Abongile Tom.
Mali were without the former RB Leipzig midfielder Amadou Haidara because of his sending off in the closing stage of their last group stage game against Comoros. Tom Saintfiet’s side was reduced to ten early in this one as Woyo Coulibaly saw a straight red card before the half-hour mark.
Tunisia only had a couple of shots on target until taking the lead in the closing stage of the normal time. Elias Saad, who came on the place of Augsburg teammate Ismaël Gharbi, assisted Firas Chaouat’s excellent header to put the North Africans ahead in the 88th minute.
The celebrations only lasted for five minutes, though. Mali were awarded a penalty-kick in injury-time when Yassine Meriah was penalized for a handball. With Mali’s first shot on target, Lassine Sinayoko scored his third goal of the tournament from the spot to force extra-time.
Mali managed to take the game into a penalty shootout with Tunisia unable to create clear-cut chances. Saad calmly converted his attempt, but Mali came out victorious in a low-scoring shootout. Former Stuttgart striker El Bilal Touré scored the decisive penalty for the Eagles.
Haidara will return for the quarter-final against Senegal, but they will miss three key players due to suspensions. In addition to the Augsburg duo, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Ellyes Skhiri and Bochum’s Ibrahima Sissoko played in the hard-fought encounter.
The combative midfielder will now be in contention to play the first Bundesliga game of the year next Friday as Frankfurt entertain Borussia Dortmund. Similarly, Gharbi and Saad will most likely be available for Augsburg's game in Mönchengladbach.
AFCON's Round of 16 will continue tomorrow with hosts Morocco facing Tanzania before a big clash between South Africa and Christian Kofane’s Cameroon.
