40 YEARS OF FAILURE
Tunisia out to end long wait for second World Cup match win
TUNISIA must break a 40-year hoodoo if they are to make a lasting impression on the World Cup in Russia. The Eagles of Carthage became the first African country to win a match at a World Cup tournament when they beat Mexico in their opening game in Argentina in 1978. But they have failed to register a victory at the finals since.
Having qualified for the first time since 2006, the path ahead again looks tough for Tunisia, despite their highest-ever 14th place in the world rankings.
They are due to play Belgium and England in Group G and have lost their stand-out playmaker Youssef Msakni to injury.
With the help of Msakni’s goals and creativity, Tunisia went unbeaten in their qualifying campaign, winning their group by a point from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The turning point proved to be a late two-goal recovery in Kinshasa to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw against the DRC.
After losing veteran coach Henryk Kasperczak early in the campaign, Nabil Maaloul, who himself was fired during Tunisia’s failed attempt to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, came back to steer the North Africans to Russia.
Maaloul — an assistant under Frenchman Roger Lemerre when Tunisia won the African Cup of Nations in 2004 and one of only a few African coaches of teams from the continent — must find an answer to the absence of Msakni whose role as playmaker is likely to be taken by captain Wahbi Khazri.
Khazri himself has not played since being injured for Stade Rennes in April, missing Tunisia’s two warm-up matches against Portugal (2-2) and Turkey (2-) last week.
He has been training apart from the rest of the squad at their Swiss training camp this week.
After a largely disappointing spell with England’s Sunderland, Khazri will lead out a team made up mostly of players from the Tunisian domestic league and only a few who have pursued their careers in Europe.
The Tunisian football authorities persuaded a handful of French-born players to pledge their allegiance to the country of their parents’ birth in order to bolster the squad for the World Cup.
They will be tested by some of the world’s top players such as Belgium’s Eden Hazard and England’s Harry Kane. But having gone unbeaten in qualifying and won friendlies in March against World Cup-bound Iran and Costa Rica, they will be fancied to beat Group G’s other team Panama.
Tunisia lost 1-0 to Spain in their last warm-up friendly against Spain in Krasnodar on Saturday.
Iago Aspas scored the only goal for the 2010 champions seven minutes from the end.
“The first objective is to get through the first round as it would be amazing for our country. To have a good World Cup with all my teammates will be a good thing,” said centre back Yohan Benalouane, who plays for Leicester City in the English Premier League.
“For me, it was a big emotion (to play for Tunisia), because to go on the pitch with the shirt of your country, it’s always something special. I hope we can do something good for the World Cup.”
Benalouane, 31, could face his Leicester teammates Harry Maguire and Jamie Vardy when Tunisia kick off their World Cup campaign against England on June 18.
“Obviously, it will be a good game and it’s always a pleasure to meet other people from my team in the World Cup. It will be a big challenge for us,” he added.
“Vards (Jamie Vardy) is always difficult, because he is an electric man. He is a very good striker, he has top quality, he scores a lot.
“We have to be focused, because we know his quality. I hope, for him, that he has a good World Cup, but not against Tunisia.”