Mali’s Moussa Sissako scored an own goal and was sent off in his side’s 1-0 defeat by Tunisia
Tunisia gave hosts Mali a 1-0 win in the first leg of the 2022 World Cup play-offs.
The unfortunate Moussa Sissako scored the only goal of the game when he put the ball into his own net in the 36th minute.
Things got even worse for Sissako just four minutes later when he was shown the red card for a foul on the edge of the box.
Although 10 men played the entire second half, Mali created the better chances but were unable to prevail against a stubborn Tunisian defence.
Tunisia started the game strong and put the hosts under pressure early on.
It took the Eagles more than twenty minutes to find their pace and pose a real threat to the Carthage Eagles.
Their rhythm was shaken when Sissako, who plays for Standard Liège in Belgium, received the ball without any pressure on the edge of the box and sent his back pass too hard and too far from Ibrahim Mounkoro.
To add insult to injury, Sissako was sent off minutes later when he sped after Saifeddine Jaziri and awkwardly grazed him from behind, with the referee ruling a scoring opportunity had been denied.
Despite being inferior, Mali didn’t give up and created far better chances after the break, but the Tunisian defense was determined to secure the crucial away win.
It was revenge for Tunisia lost 1-0 to Mali In contentious circumstances at the recent Africa Cup of Nations, when Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe signaled full-time after 85 minutes and then ended the game before the clock ticked 90 minutes.
Tunisia, who are aiming for their second successive World Cup appearance, host Mali in the second leg on 29 March.
Mali, who are attempting to reach the World Cup for the first time in their history, will be without Sissako after being sent off for the Rades game.
Comments are closed.