For most countries regardless of the continent which they find themselves in, reaching the semifinals of their footballing competition is seen as an achievement. This is even more so when the nation has never achieved this feat before. You can probably tell the excitement which comes with finally reaching the semifinals. Madagascar playing against Tunisia is one game which reflects this perfectly. The winner of this match would earn a ticket to play in the last four of this game. The loser would get to go home. Those are the fine margins which threaten to take over the entire affair.
Madagascar
If fairytales do exist, Madagascar is probably going through one right now. Their group stages were unbelievable. With a memorable win over the Super Eagles of Nigeria, they rightly would feel that this is their best Afcon yet. Not usually known for their football skills, Madagascar is looking good at the moment. They needed a penalty shootout to get to this stage and they would surely fancy their chances of reaching the semifinals of the competition. What stands directly in their way would be the team from North America- Tunisia. With Tunisia gunning for another appearance in the semifinals of the Afcon, their job here a little more complicated.
Tunisia
Tunisia had a good group stage outing although not as remarkable as Madagascar. However, they had a difficult outing when they faced the black stars of Ghana. Just like Madagascar, they required a shootout to help them move towards this stage. They face Madagascar which has surpassed all expectations placed on them and are currently at this stage. However, the thing about these matches is that it is very easy to allow complacency to creep into their game. This is one problem which would be interesting to see how they deal with the problem. Another matter which would surely be crucial would be the momentum which both teams currently have.
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The momentum in which Madagascar currently are on is quite intimidating. For a team considered to be lowly, they are quite rampant, to say the least. They have not yet lost a game in this competition and they are absolutely flying. While this might have been the case before the tournament, what has counted so far is what has happened since the tournament has actually started. However, one mistake and that streak would be gone and so will their hopes of going as far as they can in this competition. Tunisia is a very dangerous team.
While Tunisia has had a lot of issues when it comes to playing knockout stages, they would love to match their records in 2004 when they reached the semifinals. However, with the form Madagascar is currently in, they would have to up the mantle a bit. A win would be amazing and would take them straight into the penultimate stage of the competition.
It is a tricky game for both teams and they would have to play well to have a good chance of winning.
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