Tunisia out of Africa Cup of Nations after South Africa draw

KORHOGO, Ivory Coast : Tunisia limped out of the Africa Cup of Nations finals with a whimper after they were held to a 0-0 draw by South Africa in the sweltering heat of Korhogo on Wednesday, a result that sends their opponents into the last-16.

The onus was on Tunisia to make the play as they needed a win to move off the bottom of Group E, but they created very little in the contest and failed to break down a resolute South Africa.

Mali top the pool with five points from their three games following a goalless draw with Namibia, with South Africa in second place on four points. Namibia also qualified for the first time as one of the four best third-placed teams.

Tunisia are the third-ranked African side at the tournament in the Ivory Coast behind Morocco and Senegal, but following a shock loss to Namibia in their opening game, they could only manage draws with Mali and South Africa and join Algeria and Ghana as surprise casualties in the pool phase.