10-man Mali eliminates Tunisia in AFCON upset for the ages

As the game ticked on, though, and Mali switched its formation to fill the gap that Coulibaly left behind, Tunisia failed to convert its numerous chances. When it finally scored a go-ahead goal in the 88th minute, Tunisia's team-wide reaction wasn't joy: it was relief.

That relief was short-lived. In the final seconds of injury time, Tunisia defender Yassine Meriah accidentally committed a handball offense inside his own penalty box. The referee awarded Mali a penalty, and forward Lassine Sinayoko converted it with a wry smile. At the final whistle, against all odds, the score was level.

From there, Mali had the clear emotional advantage. Tunisia thrashed through injury time in a haze of anger and disappointment while Mali kept its cool. The team held its composure clear through the ensuing penalty shootout, refusing to react even when its stars Yves Bissouma and Dorgeles Nene failed to convert their shots. Mali knew it had one more card left to play.

That card? Goalkeeper Djigui Diarra, who plies his trade for Young Africans in the Tanzanian professional league. Diarra made two crucial saves to hand the shootout to Mali after five rounds of kicks.

An incredible record

Mali's stats in this match — and indeed in this tournament — deserve a second look. They highlight just how absurd this victory was, even by AFCON's admittedly absurd standards.

Mali is ranked 53rd in the world, well below Tunisia's ranking of 41st. It has never qualified for a World Cup; Tunisia has qualified for seven, including this summer's North American edition. Mali finished this match with just 22% possession to Tunisia's 78%. It lost Coulibaly in the 26th minute and played over 100 minutes with a one-man disadvantage. Coulibaly's dismissal brings Mali's red card count at AFCON 2025 to two and makes Mali the most red-carded team in modern AFCON history. 

It entered this match having failed to win (or lose) a single game of AFCON 2025 in regular time, and incredibly, this result means that Mali's draw streak has stretched on through four consecutive matches. Its game-tying goal came in the sixth minute of four minutes of added time; its penalty shootout win came after it blew two of its five shots.

A familiar quarterfinal foe

Mali will face Senegal, its West African neighbor, in the AFCON 2025 quarterfinals. Senegal's path to the match was far more straightforward than Mali's; it won its group outright and beat Sudan 3-1 in the round of 16 to clinch its berth.

Who could bet against Mali after an AFCON showing like this one? The team looks unbeatable — not because of how it plays, but because of how it thinks. Some teams never accept that they've lost. This Mali side appears to have forgotten that losing is even a possibility.

Mali and Senegal will face off on Friday, Jan. 9 in Tangier.