AFCON: Tunisia bounces back, brushes aside Mauritania 4-0
Tunisia bounced back from their controversial opening defeat at the Africa Cup of Nations by brushing aside Mauritania 4-0 in Group F.
Hamza Mathlouthi drove in a half volley in the fourth minute and Wahbi Khazri slotted in a second four minutes later.
Khazri got his second after the break and Seifeddine Jaziri added the fourth.
Tunisia had lost their first game 1-0 to Mali – a match which was ended 13 seconds early – but their protests were dismissed by tournament organisers.
Substitute Youssef Msakni, who featured at his seventh Nations Cup after recovering from coronavirus, missed a late penalty for the 2004 champions, pulling his effort against the left-hand upright.
The Carthage Eagles are just the second team to score four goals in a game at this year’s Nations Cup, after hosts Cameroon, and victory puts them a point behind The Gambia and Mali.
Tunisia face the Gambians in their final group match on Friday (19:00 GMT), while back-to-back defeats mean Mauritania can no longer reach the last 16.
Tunisia showed no sign of any lingering frustration following the fall-out from their first defeat, taking control inside the opening 10 minutes in Limbe.
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Former Sunderland attacker Khazri, who had seen a penalty saved against Mali, made no mistake for the opener when he controlled a ball from Anis Ben Slimane and passed into the net to double his side’s lead.
His second in the 64th minute capped a fine team move, as Khazri stepped over a ball into the box and stroked home after being found by Ghaylene Chaalali.