Mali and Tunisia shared the spoils on Saturday night at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium as they played out to a 1-1 draw in a Group E encounter at the 2023 AFCON.
Lassine Sanayoko gave Mali the lead as he opened the scoring as early as the 10th minute. However, Tunisia pulled one back through Hamza Rafia 10 minutes later to level matters.
Below are the talking points of the Mali and Tunisia showdown.
TUNISIA CAN’T KEEP A CLEAN SHEET
The North Africans’ defence is shaky as they can’t keep a clean sheet. In their first match, they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against Namibia towards the end of the match, which was destined for a 0-0 stalemate. Then, on Saturday night, they played to a 1-1 draw.
LASSINE SANAYOKO SCORES HIS SECOND GOAL OF THE TOURNAMENT
After scoring the winning goal against Bafana Bafana last time out, Auxerre striker Lassine Sanayoko continued with his good form in front of goal.
The 24-year-old scored his second goal of the tournament after opening the scoring as early as the 10th minute following a great build-up in the final third and an assist from Kamory Doumbia.
GROUP E STILL WIDE OPEN
The draw left Group E wide open as all four teams still have a chance of qualifying for the Round of 16. Mali and Tunisia have one group game left, respectively.
On the other hand, Bafana Bafana will lock horns against Namibia on Sunday before their final group games, respectively.
As it stands, Mali occupies the top spot with four points, followed by Namibia with three points. Tunisia has a point, and South Africa are yet to pick up a point.
In the second half both teams tried their all to find the back of the net, but they couldn’t hit the target. They then settled for a draw.
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