Tunisia U20s exit Africa Cup qualifiers after Libya draw

Tunisia's U20 team was eliminated from the 2027 Africa U20 Cup of Nations qualifiers after a 1-1 draw with Libya on Saturday at Suez Stadium in Egypt. Dharar Brik opened the scoring for Tunisia in the 24th minute, with Musa Ibrahim equalizing for Libya in the 64th.

Controversial Offside Incident

In stoppage time, Tunisia's goalkeeper Slim Bouasker advanced into Libya's penalty area for a corner kick. Libya won possession and launched a rapid counter-attack, creating a 4v1 situation against the stranded Tunisian keeper. The assistant referee raised his flag for offside to halt the attack, sparking furious protests from Libyan players and staff.

The decision was correct according to the laws of the game, as the Libyan attacker had crossed the halfway line by about one meter when receiving the ball, with only the Tunisian goalkeeper ahead of him. For the attack to be legal, the Libyan player needed to remain in his own half or a second Tunisian defender needed to be goal-side.

Disappointing End to Campaign

Tunisia finished their preliminary tournament campaign with just three points from four matches in a North African subgroup that also included Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco. This result leaves the team in a low position in the group standings. This exit comes as the senior national team is enduring a tough run of form, failing to win any of their last five official matches, with one draw and four defeats, the latest being a 2-2 draw with Botswana last March. Details on the senior team's performance can be found on the stats page.

The senior side now prepares to face Libya again, but in World Cup qualifying, as they host them on November 11th. All upcoming team schedules can be followed via the fixtures page.

Libya, who had one point before the match, lost their chance to qualify even if they win their final scheduled match against Morocco on Tuesday. Egypt had already secured qualification from the group prior to this round.

Further reading: الجزيرة نت