Africa Cup of Nations 2019: Tunisia reach last 16 after Mauritania draw
- Published
Naim Sliti and co will face Ghana in the last 16
Tunisia reached the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations despite drawing 0-0 with Mauritania in Suez.
The result means Tunisia finish as Group E runners-up and will face Ghana in the last 16 of the tournament.
Youssef Msakni could have earned the Eagles of Carthage the win in the second half but his header was saved by goalkeeper Brahim Souleymane.
Debutants Mauritania finish bottom of the group with two points from their three games.
The West African side dominated the first half but Mohamed Dellahi Yali, Ismael Diakite and Hacen all spurned good opportunities to break the deadlock.
Msakni nearly snatched the victory for Tunisia in the final minute of normal time but Souleymane managed to get a strong hand to the 28-year-old's goal-bound header.
Mali topped Group E after beating Angola 1-0 in Ismailia.
Analysis
By BBC Arabic's Mohamed Qoutb
The inexperienced Mauritanian players looked comfortable for the first time in the tournament in the first half. They made good use of their advantage in aerial duels and applied pressure on the Tunisian goal without scoring.
Tunisia - despite bringing Bassem Srarfi in from the start - remained out of rhythm and needed efforts from Msakni and Wahbi Khazri to threaten the Mauritanian goalkeeper.
A disappointing Tunisian side reach the second round without showing anything that would justify putting them as favourites for the tournament, while a brave Mauritanian squad will walk away from their first Afcon campaign with a lot of lessons to learn.