Madagascar national soccer team, christened “Barea”, arrived in the land of the Pharaoh in Cairo as the lowest ranked team on the continent. The team, playing in its first ever African Nations Cup, is now one win away from the semi-finals. The Carthage Eagles of Tunisia stand in their way.
En route to the last eight, Madagascar made headlines by upsetting African soccer giants among them Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Back at home, there were wild celebrations on the streets of Antananarivo especially after their victory against DR Congo.
Soccer enthusiasts in Madagascar are optimistic that their team will make it to the semifinals.
“We have a good chance of beating Tunisia because Tunisia has also played for 120 minutes in their last game, so they may be tired. But when you observe how they have been playing overall, I think it’s possible to beat them.” Said Tahina Razafimandimby, team supporter.
However, others are confident that the Barea might just win the whole tournament.
Akim Mahavita says “My prediction is that the score will be 2-1 in favor of Barea. I have to say that I had feared that Ghana would win but when Tunisia won, I said that we’ll go to the semi-finals.”
Thursday night’s other quarterfinal match pits Cote D’Ivoire vs. Algeria. Cote D’Ivoire is one win away from a third semi-final appearance in the past five editions.
While Algeria has won all their four games including their opener against Kenya. They have scored nine goals and are yet to concede.
