Burkina Faso reach ANC semifinals with win over Tunisia

STEVE JORDAN/AFP/Getty Images

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Substitute Aristide Bance struck with an 81st-minute free-kick to help Burkina Faso into the semifinals of the African Nations Cup at the expense of Tunisia.

Bance's right-foot shot into the bottom corner, from a set-piece awarded after Syam Ben Youssef's handball, put Burkina Faso on course for a 2-0 win in Libreville to go through to face either Egypt or Morocco.

Bance almost made it 2-0 in Burkina Faso's next attack but hit the post this time, and instead it fell to Prejuce Nakoulma to settle the match in the 84th minute after being left in the clear on the counter-attack.

The first clear-cut chance of a tight match had fallen to Nakoulma just before the quarter-hour when he was put through by Bertrand Traore but blazed his right-foot shot over.

Seven minutes later, Traore's deft left-foot shot grazed the bar on its way over.

Tunisia might easily have conceded a penalty before the half-hour, but Hamdi Naguez's blatant shirt-tugging in the box was not spotted by the referee.

Tunisia's best chances came in quick succession soon afterwards.

Mohamed Ben Amor had room to shoot when a free-kick was worked back to him, but he curled his right-foot effort wide, and then Mohamed Ali Yacoubi could not quite get on the end of a flick header from a corner.

Just after the hour, Bakary Kone got on the end of Charles Kabore's deep free-kick only to head over the Tunisia bar, but Bance's arrival heralded a telling change of fortune for Burkina Faso.