Tunisia booked their place at the 2015 CAF U-23 Championship after enjoying a 2-0 win over Morocco in Rades on Saturday, in the return leg of their final qualifying tie.
Defeated 1-0 by the young Atlas Lions in the first leg in Rabat a fortnight ago, the Carthage Eagles turned the tables around to seal a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Second half goals by Edem Rejaibi and Haythem Jouini proved enough to extend the Tunisians’ olympic journey.
The locals dominated the encounter right from kick-off, with Mohamed Ali Jouini heading the ball just wide after two minutes of play.
Haythem Jouini and Ilyes Jelassi missed back-to-back clear-cut chances as the game went on, while Ali Machani hit the crossbar just before the half-a-hour mark to see the two side going goalless into the break, with the hosts not reaping the rewards of their efforts.
Esperance Tunis striker Edem Rejaibi ultimately broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, following great work from Saad Bguir.
Things got worse for the visitors when a Moroccan defender was sent off on the hour mark, with Tunisia being awarded a penalty for the occasion. But Ilyes Jelassi failed to convert from the spot.
However, Haythem Jouini doubled their lead three minutes later to give the Carthage Eagles the upper hand over the two legs.
And Tunisia managed to hold onto their crucial advantage until the final whistle to progress to the final tournament.
