South Africa and Namibia both secured a place in the last-16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after hard-fought encounters in the Group E finale.
Bafana Bafana were under the cosh from the first minute with Tunisia on the front foot and hardly offering them a sniff inside their area.
The North Africans showed more of the attacking impetus as they needed a win to have any chance of progression.
It was nervy, felt from the field to the technical bench to their fans who outnumbered the few South Africans in the Amadou Gon Coulibaly – however, it was clear the locals in Korhogo were on the side of Bafana.
In the second half, Tunisia wasn’t able to match up with the intensity, which offered Bafana some space to attack on the counter but as time wore on, neither goalkeeper was forced into a meaningful save.
Teboho Mokoena and Percy Tau both had chances in the final ten minutes that both went inches past Bechir Ben Said’s post.
Meanwhile, in the other game, Namibia were holding Mali to a goalless draw too meaning they were on course to finish in third place and qualify for the last-16 behind South Africa, while the West Africans would top the group with a win and two draws.
Both games resulted in the first goalless draws of the competition in Ivory Coast but is was enough for three teams from Group E to go through.
