Tunisia vs Madagascar
Madagascar have been the big success story of the Africa Cup of Nations. The minnows, who are getting their first taste of the AFCON finals for the first time in their history, have made it all the way to the quarter-finals after a dramatic penalty shootout against DR Congo.
Impressively, the Malagasies have made it this far while playing some positive attacking football that’s been entertaining for the casual fans.
They will look to keep their fairytale run alive against Tunisia, who have failed to impress thus far in the tournament.
The Eagles of Carthage may be favoured by the Africa Cup of Nations 2019 odds, but this tournament has already produced a number of upsets, like South Africa beating hosts Egypt. Tunisia face a very realistic chance of being included in that list if they don’t significantly improve their play.
Talking Points
Madagascar show no fear
Madagascar likely couldn’t have dreamt of a better debut in the Africa Cup of Nations finals. The Malagasies topped their group with two wins and a draw and defeated Nigeria 2-0 in the final group game.
They continued their impressive play in the round of 16 against DR Congo. They looked set to progress until the Leopards came up with a 90th-minute equaliser to force extra time and penalties. Luckily, though, they held their nerve in the shootout to reach the last eight.
Madagascar’s offence has been quite effective all tournament. They’ve scored seven goals in total — tied for second-most behind Algeria — and have found the back of the net in all four of their matches thus far.
Even in the knockout round, the Barea have played with the positive attacking style French coach Nicolas Dupuis has instilled in them. And after all the success they’ve had playing that way, it’s unlikely they’ll change now.
The Malagasies remain a bit suspect at the back, but if they can continue to score goals as they have in the tournament — they’ve got seven in four games — that may not be that big a problem.
Tunisia yet to turn it on
Tunisia have continued their remarkable run of consistency at the AFCON. They’ve made it through to the quarter-finals for the sixth time in eight years. And Alain Giresse’s side has gone this far in this year’s tournament despite not yet winning a single match within 90 minutes.
The Eagles of Carthage — who are currently ranked second on the continent — drew all three of their group matches, as well as their round-of-16 match against Ghana.
Although, it should be noted that they were basically seconds away from beating Ghana, but a Rami Bedoui’s own goal in stoppage time sent the match to extra time. However, they were still able to go through on penalties.
Tunisia were rather fortunate to survive as Ghana dominated for most of the match and got up 23 shots. Meanwhile, they also haven’t been able to create too many goalscoring opportunities despite their quality in attack.
Star forward Wahbi Khazri and Naim Sliti were expected to provide the quality going forward, but they have simply been unable to come up with many Africa Cup of Nations 2019 highlights.
The Tunisians’ lack of cutting edge is quite concerning, especially against a Madagascar team that’s consistently found the back of the net.
Tunisia’s talented forwards will have to find their shooting boots or they risk being the Malagasies’ next victims.
History
While Tunisia have consistently been to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, they have struggled to get any further. Since winning their lone AFCON back in 2004, they have failed to progress to the semis despite five quarter-final berths.
Tunisia and Madagascar don’t have much of a history in terms of football head-to-heads. They’ve faced off just four times in total, with their most recent meeting coming two decades ago in 2001 during World Cup qualifiers. Tunisia won both matches.
Betting Tip
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Tunisia vs Madagascar | Madagascar 1X2 @ 4.10 |
| July 12, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
Despite the sizable gap in their FIFA World Rankings — Tunisia are 25th while Madagascar are 108th — the SBOBET odds suggest that this quarter-final tie will be closer than some might expect. Tunisia are slight favourites at 1.75 on the 1X2 market while Madagascar are at 4.00 and the draw is 3.35.
But there’s a legitimate argument to be made for Madagascar coming out on top. They have been the more impressive side overall during the tournament and have been much more clinical in front of goal.
Tunisia haven’t looked like the second-best team in Africa, and I predict they will be the second-best side on the pitch against the Malagasies.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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