Barea eye another famous Afcon scalp

Madagascar will eye another famous win at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations when they take on Tunisia in a quarterfinal clash at Al Salam Stadium in Cairo on Thursday evening.

Kick-off is at 9pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).

Barea, who are participating in their first Afcon tournament, are aiming to become the first tournament newcomers since South Africa in 1996 to reach the semifinals of Africa's premier competition.

Madagascar booked their place in the last eight with a penalty shootout win over Democratic Republic of Congo in the Round of 16.

The island nation ended the group stages atop their group, following wins over Burundi and Nigeria, preceded by a 2-2 draw against Guinea in their opening Afcon game.

Tunisia, in stark contrast, have yet to win a game in regulation time following three successive group stage draws against Angola, Mali and Mauritania; the Eagles of Carthage edged Ghana on penalties.

For Madagascar head coach Nicolas Dupuis, the run has been a fairytale dream and a he would like to extend into the semifinals.

"I simply want to continue dreaming together. Since the start, two and a half years ago, we said we're going to qualify for the Afcon. We want to have a common goal that's reasonable," Dupuis said.

"But qualifying and getting out of the group were achievable. Now we're going to reach beyond what is feasible. There's still a bit that is achievable, but it's going to be very difficult."

Eagles of Carthage head coach Alain Giresse is hoping to guide the North Africans to a second Afcon title, 15 years after clinching the crown on home soil.

“It was a hard win [over DR Congo]." said Giresse. "We qualified and that’s what’s important. This is how the knockout stages go.

"We are capable of lifting the trophy 15 years after doing so for the first time."

The two countries have met competitively only twice with Tunisia winning both 2002 World Cup qualifiers; 1-0 at home and 2-0 away respectively.

The winner will face Senegal for a place in the tournament final, which will take place in Cairo on 19 July.