Five minutes of extra time might not seem like much for a soccer match, but it felt like an eternity during Tunisia’s last match against Libya in the 2018 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers.

On Nov. 11, fans of the Carthage Eagles, dressed in the red and white of the Tunisian flag, knew that the slightest mistake, the slightest lapse in defense, would stop their team from reaching the World Cup for the third time in a row. The Eagles only needed a tie to advance and complete the team's resurgence since the overthrow of the country’s longtime dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in 2011.

After 94 minutes and 56 seconds of play, the referee blew his whistle. The Eagles had held on for a 0-0 tie with Libya. The crowd roared in Rades Stadium, just outside the Tunisian capital city of Tunis. Tunisia was headed for the World Cup, to be held in Russia, June 14-July 15.

The Eagles’ resurgence comes nearly seven years after the country’s democratic revolution. Another sign of the change since then is that the Tunisian Soccer Federation, although not without its flaws, now democratically elects its president. For many Tunisians, the national team's on-field success and the democratization of the sport are welcomed relief.