Cairo, July 12 -- Madagascar's fairy tale came to an end at the African Cup of Nations as the underdog was beaten 3-0 by Tunisia in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Tunisia scored twice in eight minutes after halftime, and again in injury time. The North Africans controlled the game completely.

That set up a semifinal for Tunisia against Senegal and finally sent Madagascar, which was playing in its first major tournament, home.

Ferjani Sassi claimed the opener in the 52nd minute, helped by a big deflection off the backside of Madagascar defender Thomas Fontaine. Tunisia captain Youssef Msakni pounced on a rebound to make it 2-0.

Naim Sliti scored a third on a Tunisian breakaway deep in injury time as the Madagascans piled forward in sea...