This archive report was first published on 12 July 2019.
Published on July 12, 2019, Tunisia ended Madagascar's remarkable Africa Cup of Nations run with a 3-0 quarter-final win.
Madagascar, a country with little football tradition, had been expected to progress no further than the group stage on their first appearance at the finals. However, they held out until the second half before being undone by Ferjani Sassi's deflected shot.
Youssef Msakni added a second on the hour for the Carthage Eagles, and substitute Naim Sliti finished it off on the break in stoppage time to earn them a semi-final against Senegal on Sunday.
"Today, the bar was too high, Tunisia were too strong for us, they were a very well-organised team. The result was logical," said Madagascar coach Nicolas Dupuis.
Despite having more possession, Tunisia were let down by the final pass early on while Madagascar were more incisive on the occasions they went forward. Tunisia began to take control towards halftime, with goalkeeper Melvin Adrien making several crucial saves.
However, it was Tunisia's Ferjani Sassi who scored the opening goal in the 52nd minute, with his shot taking a wicked deflection off Thomas Fontaine to leave Adrien wrong-footed.
Eight minutes later, Tunisia struck again, with Youssef Msakni collecting the rebound and planting the ball in the bottom corner. After that, Tunisia decided to sit back on their lead and Madagascar never looked like mounting a fight back.
Although they kept pushing forward, their remarkable campaign ended with something of a whimper with Sliti's breakaway goal in stoppage time rubbing salt into the wounds.
