Despite the first success of their history against the French team, reigning world champion, Tunisian footballers were eliminated from the tournament due to Australia’s victory against Denmark.
by Anthony Hernandez (Special envoy to Al Rayyan)
This is what we call a blow for nothing. Or how to succeed in one of the greatest exploits in its football history without being able to take full advantage of it. Wednesday, November 30, Tunisia beat France for the first time in five games (1-0), but, third in group D with 4 points, it failed to join the round of 16 of the World Cup. What nourish some eternal regrets.
This unforeseen success in the reigning world champions is one of those who, ultimately, will only stay in the annals of Tunisian football when he had the fabric of a great world feat. In a Tunisian atmosphere, worthy of the great Tunisian derbies between Esperance and the African Club -with the exception of the misstep of the whistled Marseillaise -, the scenario was cruel at the Stade Education City in al -rayyan.
Instead of fully enjoying the victorious goal of the Corsican most Corsican of Tunisians, the Ajaccian Wahbi Khazri, who offered an unlikely breakthrough, full of will and daring to subtly deceive the goalkeeper Steve Mandanda a little before L ‘Hour of play, the Tunisian supporters have read, helpless, at a distance and only two minutes after this false deliverance, of the goal of the Australian Mathew Leckie against Denmark who eliminated them. With six points, against the four of Tunisia, it is Australia that accompanies the Habs in the next round.
Thin consolation, the confirmation of this victory at the end of the stoppages, while the whole stadium thought he had attended the French equalization by Antoine Griezmann. The late cancellation of the French goal by the referee caused a funny eruption of joy.
With five players born and trained in France at the start – Montassar Talbi, Ellyes Skhiri, Aïssa Laïdouni, Wajdi Kechrida and Wahbi Khazri -, the Carthage Eagles did not lack motivation, but their fate did not completely depend of them. Since their defeat in the second match against Australia (1-0), they knew that a victory might not be enough against the Blues. “You beat the world champion, you manage to draw against a very beautiful Danish team [0-0] and you lose against Australia, the match that should not be lost,” regrets Ali Abdi, side who evolves at the Stade Malherbe Caen, in Ligue 2.
“We do not go through the small door”
His teammate in defense, Montassar Talbi, FC Lorient player, in Ligue 1, evokes a “mixed feeling”: “It’s our fault. We should have succeeded in a better match against Australia. We wanted to Believe until the end. We come out with three points in a big match and that is not enough. It is fate … “Abdi continues:” The atmosphere was hard in the locker room. But you have to be honest with ourselves , he analyzes, we must improve in the preparation of matches against the lower level teams. We lose against a qualified team [by passing] by the dams. “
Faced with a strongly revised French team – nine players had not been holders in the first two games – and already qualified, Tunisia did not ask questions and had the merit of playing the game to bottom. She was rewarded. “We made a real team match,” notes Khazri. I am happy to have made the Tunisian people proud. We didn’t need France to be stung, we had to show another face. ”
And no question of depreciating this victory by absence at the kick -off of the French stars (Kylian Mbappé or Antoine Griezmann), entries on the field from the 63
A point of view shared by the only scorer of the meeting, Wahbi Khazri: “There were high class players in front of us. They played the game thoroughly. Victory returns to us, it is deserved . We do not come out through the small door. “The Tunisian quest for the knockout stages continues. “We are working to be, next time, in the second round with the big teams,” announces Ali Abdi. Like their Algerian neighbors, in 2014, or Moroccans, in 1986 and perhaps once again this year.