‘AFCON is one crazy tournament - Asisat Oshoala reacts as Mali stun Tunisia on penalties

Mali advanced after a gripping 1–1 draw after extra time in their Round of 16 clash at the Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca on Saturday despite playing nearly the entire match with 10 men.

The Eagles’ task became significantly harder in the 26th minute when defender Woyo Coulibaly was shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Tunisia’s Hannibal Mejbri.

Reduced to 10 men, Mali were forced into a defensive battle that lasted almost 120 minutes, played in heavy rain that even drove many fans from the largely uncovered stands.

Tunisia appeared to have broken Malian resistance late on when substitute Firas Chaouat headed home a cross from Elias Saad in the 88th minute, putting the Carthage Eagles on the brink of victory.

But AFCON drama struck deep into stoppage time. A VAR review spotted a handball by Tunisia defender Yassine Meriah and Lassine Sinayoko calmly converted the resulting penalty in the 96th minute to force extra time.

Chaouat thought he had won it again for Tunisia during extra time, but his effort was ruled offside, sending the match to penalties.

In the shootout, Malian goalkeeper Djigui Diarra emerged as the hero, saving spot-kicks from Elias Achouri and Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane.

Reacting to the match on social media, Super Falcons star Asisat Oshoala summed up the madness that has defined AFCON 2025.

“Lmao with the way Mali made the knockout round, red card from the first half, last-minute pk to take the game to extra time. That’s almost 120mins with a player down and still made it to the next round,” Oshoala wrote.

“That’s four games, four draws for them 😅… nah AFCON is one crazy tournament.”

Mali advanced from the group stage with three consecutive draws and has now reached the quarterfinals without winning a match in regulation time.

The win sets up an all–West African quarterfinal between Mali and Senegal on Friday in Tangier.