tunisia

The only other African team, along with Senegal, heading to the World Cup with a local coach in Nabil Maaloul, a man who will have his name written in Tunisian folklore after he became the second home-grown coach to take the national team to the global showpiece. Abdelmajid Chetali was the first in 1978. It’s a career highlight for Maaloul, whose biggest achievement until this successful World Cup qualification feat was winning the CAF Champions League with Esperance in 2011.

With England’s poor track record at major tournaments recently, and Panama probably being considered easy targets as first-timers at a World Cup, Tunisia could very well be among the surprise favourites alongside Belgium in Group G. Sure, they are a bit rough around the edges because of missing the previous two World Cup finals and being an average side in the Africa Cup of Nations since winning it in 2004.

But anything can happen in Russia, especially considering their opponents there. They will fancy their chances against Panama, try to upset England and hope for the best against Belgium – that’s probably the best tactic for coach Maaloul as the North Africans aim for a knockout berth and going beyond just making up the numbers. Star Player: Youssef Msakni Youssef Msakni gave Tunisia a massive scare ahead of the tournament by undergoing knee surgery that could mean he is unavailable to play (there were reports there is a good chance he could miss the World Cup at the time of writing).

But the technical team has remained hopeful, even though suggestions have been that he definitely won’t recover in time. They are hopeful he’ll be fit and ready to play in their opener against England on June 18. Msakni has scored 14 goals in 51 appearances for Tunisia and his contribution during the qualifying rounds was immense as he managed three goals in seven matches. The coach will have to turn to Naim Sliti, the French-based midfielder on loan to Djion from Lille. And a few others would have to also step up to fill the void left by Msakni, who will be a big miss at the World Cup. Tunisia at the World Cup ARGENTINA 1978 Group Stage P3 W1 D1 L1 GF3 GA2 FRANCE 1998 Group Stage P3 W0 D1 L2 GF1 GA4 SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN 2002 Group Stage P3 W0 D1 L2 GF1 GA5 GERMANY 2006 Group Stage P3 W0 D1 L2 GF3 GA6 RUSSIA 2018 FIXTURES Monday: v England, 8pm June 23: v Belgium, 2pm June 28: v Panama, 8pm