Football fans in Algeria and Tunisia have enjoyed a special night that saw the glamor of the two teams and their passage towards the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations in Egypt.
The Ivory Coast team won the penalty shootout 4-3 after the end of the game in their original and extra time in a 1-1 draw, while Tunisia decided to face against Madagascar with three clean.
The two matches saw remarkable scenes, most notably the tears of a number of Algerian players, led by striker Baghdad Bungah who lost a penalty during the match, defender Yousef Atal, who received an injury will deprive him to continue the competition, in addition to coach Jamal Balmadi, who did not watch the penalty shootout.
"The hearts of his players have been suspended during the penalty shootout," said Belmadi, referring to the heavy pressure the team suffered at those critical moments, the moments that Riad Mehrez described as the most difficult.
Sufian Figouli drew attention after the penalty shoot-out when he tried to catch up with his teammates for the celebration.
On the other hand, the Tunisian team continued its upward trend and decided to face Madagascar after overcoming the obstacle of Ghana in the last round, to erase the final image of the faint left during the first round games.
The French coach, Alain Giras, said his players had shown their best performance in the tournament and hoped to continue to shine in the continental competition.
The joyous crowd gathered fans in Algeria and Tunisia, and many fans expressed the hope that the final will be a pure Arab between the warriors and the Carthage Eagles at the Cairo Stadium on 19 July.
Algeria and Tunisia have to overcome Senegal and Nigeria in the semi-finals on Sunday.