Lacking decisiveness in the final touches and a very cautious performance, the Tunisian national team remained fasting from scoring in the goalless draw against Denmark and losing 0-1 against Australia in the fourth group competitions of the Qatar World Cup.
And the “Carthage Eagles” must address these gaps and fly high, if they want to beat France, the world champions, on Wednesday.
A strong defense, but a crumbling attack, is the total result of the first two matches for the Tunisian team, which will have to appear in the best possible way and score the French net, as Australia did in losing 1-4, and Denmark, which fell in turn 1-2.
For this, the Tunisians must beat France, the guarantor of qualification, who currently lead the group with a full score (6), in the hope that the second match between Denmark and Australia will end in a draw, or that Denmark will win by a narrow margin.
Midfielder Naim Al-Sleiti said after losing to Australia, “We lost this match against Sucrose in the first half (…) We had two clear chances, and we should have scored.”
“We wanted to get a good result, but this is football, the highest level. When you don’t score, you get punished.”
This loss obscured the positivity of the negative draw against Denmark and the dose of confidence that the Tunisian national team gained, even if coach Jalal Al-Qadri regretted at the time because of an attack that was “not very effective with the ball.”
The lesson was considered harsh and bitter for Tunisia, which is in the finals for the sixth time, without succeeding in passing the group stage.
However, the blame lies with the Tunisian national team, as with some realism it could have raised its tally to four points instead of an orphan point, as is the case now, before the summit match against the defending champion, which some likened to “climbing Mount Everest.”
That a North African team struggled in front of their opponents’ goal is not really a surprise.
The national team relies primarily on strong defense, as it has kept nine clean sheets in its last 11 matches. However, he failed to score the opponents’ goal in seven of his 14 matches in 2022.
It is clear that opponents have a role to play in this, such as the exceptional save of Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel against Issam El-Gabaly in the first round, or the timely intervention of defender Harry Sutar to deflect Youssef Msakni’s shot against Australia in the second round.
However, the misfortune of the Tunisians with a shot outside the woods for Msakni in front of the Australian goal also explains this situation. And with a playing system with one striker at the front in the person of Jebali, who defends the colors of Odense, the fifth modest Danish championship, fingers were pointed at coach Al-Qadri for not taking chances.
Al-Qadri waited until the 67th minute to make a real offensive change, with the exit of defensive midfielder Issa Al-Aydouni and the entry of Wahbi Al-Khazri, who did not play the first match.
The start of the season was not good for the French Montpellier striker, but he was one of the best Tunisian players in the World Cup in Russia in 2018 and seems to be missing his experience.
Al-Qadri admitted after the first match against Denmark that “Al-Khazri is a good striker, a great player for the national team (…). He is still a trump card for us and we have great confidence in his abilities.”
Questions were also raised about Al-Qadri’s reticence to push the Egyptian stars Al-Ahly and Zamalek, Ali Maaloul and Saif Al-Jaziri, and the first was a left-back known for his strong offensive attacks, while the second led the white team to crown the league and cup championships last season.
However, the “Carthage Eagles” no longer have their fate in their hands, and they must focus on exploiting the injuries that hit the French national team’s defense line to score goals.
“Given the strength of our group and our attacking players, I have no doubts about our ability to score and put the opponent in trouble,” midfielder Elias Al-Sakhiri said before the match against Australia.