Madagascar aim to keep qualification hopes alive

Madagascar have big a task on their hands when they go up against Tunisia at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria in their Group A Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Thursday evening.

Kick-off is at 6pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM

Madagascar’s chances of qualifying for the next Afcon finals are hanging by a thread and if they lose the match against strong opposition Tunisia, their chances will dwindle even more.

Barea are still in search for their first win in the qualifiers, and have only registered two 1-1 draws against Comoros and have faced 1-0 defeats against Tunisia and Gambia respectively.

Madagascar have not won a match in five fixtures, stretching their winless run in all competitions to five games in a row. They have not been in the Afcon main draw since 2018/19.

Meanwhile, Tunisia have maintained their perfect record against Barea, having won four out of four of their meetings since their first encounter in July 2000.

The Eagles of Carthage started off their qualifying campaign with back-to-back wins but lost to the Comoros in game week three. They played to a 1-1 draw to the same opposition four days later.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Clément Couturier, Madagascar - Born in France, the central midfielder represents Madagascar on an international level. Having scored in the Afcon qualifying clash against The Gambia, he’ll be working towards providing an assist and maybe scoring against Tunisia.

Ali Al-Abdi, Tunisia - The left-back who currently plies his trade for Ligue 1 outfit Nice offers both a defensive and attacking threat on the flank. His crosses could prove deadly against Barea.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Matches played - 4

Madagascar wins - 0

Tunisia wins - 4

Draws - 0