Group C winners Tunisia began the brighter of the two teams and were rewarded after 15 minutes of the quarter-final tie with a well-crafted goal.

After an impressive passing move, Saad Bguir produced a cross from the left wing with Mohamed Ali Moncer arriving late into the box to head beyond Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra.

The Tunisian advantage lasted until half-time as their goalkeeper Rami Jeridi produced an excellent save from Mali midfielder Abdoul Toure.

With just 20 minutes to hold out in the second half, Tunisian defender Zied Boughattas handled inside his own penalty area, with Aliou Dieng firing the resulting penalty into the net to level the match.

Having sat back to preserve their lead, Tunisia struggled to regain the momentum after conceding and were punished in the final 10 minutes when Abdoulaye Diarra fired a low shot into the corner of the net from the edge of the box. 

The effort proved enough for Mali to secure a 2-1 victory against the 2011 winners and set up a semi-final tie against the Ivory Coast on Thursday (February 4).

Guinea secured a semi-final date with the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday (February 3), after beating Zambia on penalties following a goalless draw.

Zambia’s captain Chris Katongo had gone closest to winning the tie in normal time, but saw an effort ruled out for offside in the final 10 minutes of the match.

Katongo’s misfortune would continue during the penalty shootout, after neither side could make a breakthrough in extra-time, as he saw his penalty saved by Guinea goalkeeper Abdoulaziz Keita.

Both sides missed two penalties each to take the shootout to sudden death, where Keita was able to keep out Daut Musekwa’s effort.

The goalkeeper took matters into his own hands by opting to take the next penalty and, after successfully converting the kick to make the score 5-4, took his team into the semi-finals for the first time.

The tournament, now in its fourth edition, differs from the more elite Africa Cup of Nations, as only players who represent clubs on the continent are allowed to take part.

The final is scheduled for February 7 at the Amahoro Stadium.