The presence of Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Togo in the Africa Cup of Nations quaterfinals this weekend is a shock - the absence of any country from the Maghreb is an even bigger one.
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Only once before, in 1992 when the quaterfinal were staged for the first time, has the northern region comprising Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia not had a presence among the eight survivors after the mini-league first phase.
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Algeria, second behind Ivory Coast on the African rankings going into the tournament, finished last in Group D after an undeserved defeat by Tunisia, a deserved by Togo and a draw with the Ivorian 'B' team.
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A win over Togo would have taken Tunisia through and had a great chance when awarded a late penalty with the teams level, but Khalid Mouelhi struck the woodwork after converting an earlier spot kick.
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Morocco were the unluckiest casualties, leading South Africa twice in a must-win match only to be held 2-2 because the host conjured up two great equalisers off curled shots, one by a centre-back.
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Tunisia coach and former international defender Samir Trabelsi has also gone backwards after winning the 2011 African Nations Championship for home-based footballers in Sudan soon after taking the reins.