The formation, 4-3-3, was the same one that showed the most promise at the 2012 Afcon in our matches against Gabon and Ghana.

Once again, Jamel Saihi thrived in his position. The Montpellier player showcased his technical ease in conserving possession and delivering clean passes to his teammates with minimal fuss. As excellent as he is with the ball at his feet, Youssef Msakni could take a page out of Saihi’s book when it comes to pass selection and timing.

Another midfielder who shined yesterday was our goalscorer, Wissem Ben Yahia. Though seldom used under Trabelsi, the Mersin representative has always risen to the occasion when offered his few chances and this was a prime example of that. His goal was a thing of pure determination and he could have had more on some well taken free kicks. This much is clear, Ben Yahia is ready to make a real impact at national team level. Whether he will or not will depend on his form and our coach’s decisions going forward.

One aspect of the Ben Yahia playing time equation is whether Trabelsi will stick with Majdi Traoui in the destroyer position, a position we saw him in for the first time against the Peruvians. Though he did his best, and saved us from a certain goal with a last ditch tackle in the first half, that experiment was inconclusive. Plus, Hocine Ragued is much better suited for such a role and proved it in Gabon.

While he didn’t get that much playing time, Anis Ben Hatira’s first outing for the Carthage Eagles was acceptable. Let’s hope he plays his way into the starting lineup at Hertha Berlin so that we can see his true level in the future. Even in his lessened form, he played decently yesterday. We need more than that come June though.

Unfortunately, Lassad didn’t quite live up to our lofty expectations of him. To be fair, he’s just coming back from an injury so that could have something to do with it. He did much better than he has before and looked more comfortable on the field in some situation but lost the ball time and time again, particularly when he was trying to dribble past his opponents.

There was that one moment where him, Khlifa (another top performer from last night), and Msakni linked up to good effect in the first half. His strike was strong but too close to Roberto, the opposing keeper. I still think he’s worth another look because his attributes are different than our other center forwards.

Through no fault of his own, Sofiene Chahed remains a mystery too. He suffered a facial laceration in the first half that forced him to come off and be replaced by Khaled Souissi, who we know isn’t a right back and never was one. Thus, this remains a problem position for us. Too bad Iheb Mbarki is injured.

Bilel Ifa put in another solid performance alongside an error prone and sluggish looking Karim Haggui. Not sure what it is with our captain but he tends to switch off at crucial moments when playing in international matches. The abuse he received from the Esperance/Club Africain fans couldn’t have helped but he’s experienced enough to rise past that. Yesterday’s foul was painfully similar to when he gifted Malawi an equalizer in 2012 Afcon qualifying…

Our best tandem in central defense is clearly Ifa/Abdennour but given that Aymen is suspended for the next match it looks like Haggui will keep his place. Speaking of Abdennour, his competitiveness has always been asset but he also needs to check his aggression and pick his tackles before going to ground or going in high. Too many mistakes for someone as good as him and we can’t afford to lose him to a red card again in the future. I hope Trabelsi talks to him about that.

Other than that, it was too bad that we didn’t get to test the slightly injured Yacine Mikari. Khalil Chammam has been pretty good for us but a strong performance from Mikari could dislodge him one day. The more competition for that position, the better, as we’ll get the most out of each player. Finally, Ben Cherifia performed well in between the sticks, and his diving save in the second half prevented us from losing the game.

Our coach has decided to use this opportunity to test some European-based players who haven’t been called up in a while and another who never has been.

It makes sense given that there is a shortage of Fifa dates before our first 2014 World Cup qualifier against Equatorial Guinea in June.

In the returnees category, we have Yassine Mikari, Khaled Souissi, Sofiene Chahed, and Lassad Nouioui. We know what Mikari and Souissi can offer but it’ll be interesting to see if Chahed can give us an interesting option at right back. His prior outings for us were inconclusive but he’s playing consistently for Hannover and deserves a look given our struggles to adequately fill that spot since Hatem Trabelsi bowed out.

Goalkeepers: Aymen Mathlouthi (Etoie), Rami Jeridi (CSS), Moez Ben Cherifia (Esperance)

Defenders: Sofien Chahed (Hannover), Khalil Chammam (Esperance), Karim Haggui (Hannover), Bilel Ifa (Club Africain), Ammar Jemal (Koln), Yassine Mikari (Sochaux), Khaled Souissi (Arles-Avignon), Aymen Abdennour (Toulouse)

Midfielders: Anis Ben Hatira (Hertha Berlin), Wissem Ben Yahia (Mersin), Yassine Chikhaoui (Zurich), Youssef Msakni (Esperance), Hocine Ragued (Karabukspor), Jamel Saihi (Montpellier), Majdi Traoui (Esperance)

Strikers: Sami Allagui (Mainz), Issam Jemaa (Brest), Saber Khlifa (Evian), Lassad Nouioui (Deportivo La Coruna)

Meanwhile, Lassad’s highly anticipated recall has finally come. Worth noting are Trabelsi’ remarks that the player hasn’t adapted well to the African game or to his teammates on prior occasions. If he flunks this test then there’s a high likelihood we won’t see him again. That is unless he makes himself impossible to ignore by scoring a ton at club level. Whatever the case, this is a huge game for the Depo forward.

The German-born Anis Ben Hatira is the sole new addition to the team. I haven’t seen enough of him this season to know how well he’s playing but from what I’ve gathered over the years, he certainly has quality. Whether he can translate that onto the pitch in a national team setting remains to be seen. It’s slightly disappointing not to see Wahbi Khazri in the list but he could be holding out for a France selection. We’ll have to wait and see on that.

In an interview with Mosaique FM, Trabelsi confirmed that he’s tracking Manchester City defender Karim Rekik and Juventus’ Saphir Taider. He still hasn’t spoken to either one yet. He explained the absences of Aymen Abdennour (suspended for 2014 WCQ in June against Equatorial Guinea due to red card at the 2012 Afcon), Oussama Darragi, Khaled Korbi, and Zouhaier Dhaouadi. Other local players that could have gotten the nod but didn’t are Maher Haddad, Nour Hadria, Hatten Baratli, and Iheb Msakni.

The fan ban has been lifted for this match and continental club competitions so the Chadly Zouiten stadium should have as many fans in it as the ministry of interior and the FTF can agree on. Speaking of the FTF, a general assembly is in the works for late March or very early April so we’ll soon have a democratically elected Federal Bureau. It’s about time.

Update

Aymen Abdennour is in the list after all to replace the injured Ammar Jemal. Abdennour will be suspended for our next two official matches so he may not play a lot against Peru as we search for alternatives. The most logical one would be a Bilel Ifa and Karim Haggui partnership in central defense.

Yassine Chikhaoui tore a muscle in his right calf in a game against FC Thun and is out for three weeks. He won’t take part against Peru and, as of right now, Trabelsi has decided not to replace him with another player. This probably means more playing time for Anis Ben Hatira. Yassine Mikari might miss out due to injury as well but that is still unconfirmed.

It is a loss that will be particularly hard to fathom for the players because they’ll know just how close they came to knocking out one of the trophy favorites and becoming one themselves.

There’s no use in singling out Aymen Mathlouthi for criticism even though I’m sure he’s gutted for fumbling that simple looking cross into Andre Ayew’s path. The truth of the matter is, he was our savior on more than one occasion in Gabon and is one of the main reasons we made it as far as we did.

Aside for some amazing saves, Mathlouthi’s leadership in organizing our defense should not be overlooked. Every time Ghana came close to causing us problems today you could hear the Etoile keeper shouting and directing players to put pressure on whoever was in possession. Although he has potential, Rami Jeridi wasn’t nearly as communicative or effective in our previous match against the co-hosts.

Coach Sami Trabelsi had things going to plan but our goalkeeper’s mistake and Bilel Ifa’s game ending injury muddied the picture. Instead of having an extra sub offensive sub, we were forced to waste one in defense by inserting Anis Boussaidi. Even then, things weren’t entirely desperate.

We were headed to penalty kicks and had one more substitute. I’m almost certain that Sami was waiting to put in a shot stopper like Jeridi for the PK session, just as he did in our semi-final CHAN win against Algeria. When Mathlouthi dropped that ball though, we had no choice but to bring on another creative player in Oussama Darragi to search of an equalizer. Despite our best efforts, things just didn’t go our way at the end.

There are lessons to be taken from our participation and there’s no reason to be overly upset because we played with heart, with passion, with grinta, and with glayeb. I get angry when we lose playing like crap. This time I’m just disappointed but nothing more. Sometimes results don’t go your way even if you deserve it. That’s part of the game.

My hope is that Sami Trabelsi will stay on for 2013 Afcon qualifying and 2014 WC qualifying as well. Everything we’ve built can’t just fall in the water. His goals-based contract would have been automatically renewed had he made it to the semi-finals but now the situation is unclear. Things will be tied to what happen with the embattled FTF as well. I just know we’ve seen good things since he came and it would be a shame to waste precious time by starting from scratch again with a new coach.

Props to our players for fighting hard for their country. Props to Youssef Msakni for being one of the top players at the competition despite his youth and for offering us some unforgettable moments. People will give him some stick for not passing that ball at the end but if he scored everyone would be saying how amazing he is… and he is.

He created that space out of nothing and earned the right to try his luck from a tough angle with his performances. Let’s hope his head stays firmly on his shoulders because he’s already one of the best dribblers out there. Can’t wait to see how he evolves as he matures and gains in experience.

If you still feel bad about today, just think how close we came to not even qualifying. Everything was a bonus from the moment Chad nabbed that equalizer against Malawi. Now we have a solid foundation to build off of. The squad is young and full of potential. If we keep playing with the same mentality I’m sure that the best is yet to come! Best part about it is we don’t have to wait two years for the next African Cup. It’s right around the corner.

For all the positives that we saw, our weak link was between the goalposts where the pressure clearly got to Rami Jeridi. The newly recruited CS Sfaxien goalkeeper looked poor in the air and uncharacteristically fumbled one ball after another, diving way too early Aubameyang’s opener which was essentially shot right at him.

No need to dwell on it too much because these things can happen but it’s fair to say that the Aymen Mathlouthi of the first two games would have done much better. We didn’t want to risk him getting a second yellow and now we can see why.

On the other hand, the midfield trio of Jamel Saihi, Houcine Ragued, and Wissem Ben Yahia were excellent despite having never played together before in an official match. Saihi was particularly brilliant and one wonders what Trabelsi is thinking about our next match, which will most likely be against Ghana. Will the Korbi-Traoui partnership remain intact? Much depends on the formation he chooses. You get the feeling we’ll go back to the one that got us two wins.

One thing that shouldn’t be forgotten is that we played our best football but also weren’t facing a must win situation. If there was more pressure on us getting points from this game, would this same lineup have performed as well? Yes we wanted first place but we were already qualified to the second round and that allowed us to take more risks going forward without worrying too much about the consequences.

Following the match it was also revealed that Adel Chadli will be leaving Gabon tomorrow. The fuming veteran took offense to being selected as a substitute for this game and has selfishly put his ego ahead of the group. To say the least, his attitude is disappointing, particularly for someone who is supposed to serve as an example for his younger teammates. Makes you wonder if Trabelsi should have dropped him in favor of Iheb Msakni or Hatten Baratli before the final squad list was announced…

As the players themselves said after the match, playing well without winning is hardly satisfying and we’ll be hoping for a positive performance AND a victory in our next match. One thing is for sure, it’s not going to be easy. Thankfully for us, we don’t seem to like easy!

After taking an early lead through another brilliant Youssef Msakni solo effort, we conceded a comical equalizer that clearly unsettled our players who took an entire half to mentally recover from it. Even though Niger’s first ever Afcon goal was preceded by a clear Moussa Maazou handball, we put ourselves in that situation with poor passing and a lack of spacial awareness. Plus Aymen Mathlouthi should have dealt with the ball before it bounced and done so without giving his back to the onrushing attacker.

True to our traditions, we found a way to make this match against the (supposedly) weakest side in the group our most difficult match yet. Some positives that one can take away from our Afcon showing thus far is that we’re winning without playing our best football and are showing great spirit while doing so. Furthermore, getting a clutch goal like the one Issam Jemaa did is a huge boost to our confidence because that gives the players a belief that they can repeat such a feat in the future if necessary. I’m not saying we want to make it a habit but it is good to have some late goals as reference points.

Aside for the irrepressible Msakni and the aforementioned Jemaa, Oussama Darragi had a positive impact on the encounter as substitute and made up for Yassine Chikhaoui’s ineffectiveness. Unsurprisingly, a great deal of Tunisians still don’t understand the logic of playing with what are essentially four center backs in defense, especially against a side like Niger.

It’s fantastic that we’re through but it’s mostly down to a combination of good fortune and team spirit. We won’t be able to rely on Msakni forever and one wonders how we’re ever going to develop attacking fluency without true side backs running up and down the flanks. On the bright side, it’s going to be very difficult for us to perform worse than we did today.

Mabrouk to us and props to Niger for having a real go at us. I’m truly intrigued by how we’ll approach our final group game against the co-hosts now that we’ve both progressed. I know we want first place so we don’t have to travel to Equatorial Guinea (if we reach the semis) but of course Gabon will be seeking the same thing. Will we rest players who have yellows? Will be drastically change our lineup and tactics?

Seems to me like if there was ever a game to tinker then the next one is it. If we lose and have to face Ghana in Equatorial Guinea Franceville, so what? We’d have to face them eventually anyways. Plus with the way we play against so called smaller sides, I’d rather face the Black Stars than Mali, Guinea, or Botswana. Strange but true.

I know we haven’t played well but I’m not complaining too much. I’d rather advance without convincing than convince without advancing. We still have opportunities ahead of us to rediscover our game and play to our full potential.

As predicted, starting four center backs in defense gave us no support on the wings and forced us to rely on moments of individual brilliance to create our chances. Thankfully, those moments came, primarily through Zouhaier Dhaouadi and Youssef Msakni.

On the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi put in a man of the match display, denying Morocco several seemingly certain goals to continue what is becoming a tradition of Tunisian superiority in these Maghreb derbies. In short, it was a typically Tunisian counter attacking performance where we rode our luck and created it too.

One could say that Sami Trabelsi is fortunate that Korbi and Msakni’s goals bailed him out. If we had lost this game playing as we did, we’d be singing a much different tune. We allowed Morocco to take the initiative at almost every turn and they failed to punish us but the three points are ours and we can now prep for our match against Niger in relative peace.

I’m expecting several changes against the Mena on Friday. If I’m right in assuming that Khalil Chammam is only suspended for one match and not two, I’d like to see him return to the left back position so that we can apply more pressure on a Nigerien team that will be trying to copy our blueprint from today. Plus Ammar Jemal got a yellow today so it would make sense to save him for later in the tournament. Chances of Yassine Chikhaoui taking a seat in favor of Oussama Darragi seem much higher now too.

Finally the word from Gabon is that Saber Khelifa’s ankle is rather swollen right now and he might have to sit out. We’ll know more tomorrow when he gets it scanned to reveal the extent of the damage. Oh

Props to the boys on getting this vital win but we’re not through yet and there is much left to do. It’s nice to have the luxury to fine tune after a win rather than a loss though, especially at a tournament like a the Afcon.

Goals below, full highlights here

So no Msakni brother combo for us even though Iheb was nothing short of excellent in qualifiers and preparatory friendlies. It must sting for the freshly signed Esperance recruit who is surely a victim of circumstance and the fact that we have a plethora of midfielders from which to pick.

Merited or not, the exclusions of an out-of-form Hichri and a young and inexperienced Baratli were somewhat expected which is why I’m focusing on Msakni’s misfortune. As I wrote in a previous post, I would have cut the aforementioned Hichri, Issam Jemaa, and Houcine Ragued.

I think Jemaa made the list simply because, with his height and power, he offers something different up front when compared to the short and speedy players (Amine Chermiti, Saber Khelifa, and Sami Allagui) that we have up there besides him. That is an important consideration when you take into account the physical strength of the defenders we’ll be facing at the tournament, especially if we want to go far.

Despite being our leading scorer of all-time, he’s a controversial choice to be sure. Trabelsi is paid to make these decisions so we’ll have to live with it. Barring last-minute injuries (which we certainly hope are avoided!), below is our list for the 2012 Afcon.

Goalkeepers: Aymen Mathlouthi (Etoile), Rami Jeridi (CS Sfaxien), Moez Ben Cherifia (Esperance)

Defenders: Anis Boussaidi (FC Rostov), Karim Haggui (Hannover), Ammar Jemal (Koln), Aymen Abdennour (Toulouse), Bilel Ifa (Club Africain), Khalil Chammam (Esperance)

Midfielders: Adel Chedly (Etoile), Jamel Saihi (Montpellier), Houcine Ragued (Karabukspor), Khaled Korbi (Esperance), Wissem Ben Yahia (Mersin), Zouhaier Dhaouadi (Club Africain), Yassine Chikhaoui (Zurich), Oussama Darragi (Esperance), Majdi Traoui (Esperance), Youssef Msakni (Esperance)

Strikers: Sami Allagui (Mainz), Amine Chermiti (Zurich), Saber Khelifa (Evian), Issam Jemaa (Auxerre)

In: Karim Haggui, Ammar Jemal, Houcine Ragued, Jamel Saihi, Sami Allagui, and Sabeur Khelifa.

Such are the changes compared to the previous roster list. Now the team is back in Tunisia until January 6 when they leave for Dubai where they’ll face Sudan on January 9 and Cote D’Ivoire on January 13.

Goalkeepers: Aymen Mathlouthi (Etoile), Rami Jeridi (CS Sfaxien), Moez Ben Cherifia (Esperance)

Defenders: Anis Boussaidi (FC Rostov), Karim Haggui (Hannover), Ammar Jemal (Koln), Aymen Abdennour (Toulouse), Walid Hichri (Esperance), Bilel Ifa (Club Africain), Khalil Chammam (Esperance)

Midfielders: Adel Chedly (Etoile), Hatten Baratli (CA Bizertin), Jamel Saihi (Montpellier), Iheb Msakni (Stade Tunisien), Houcine Ragued (Karabukspor), Khaled Korbi (Esperance), Wissem Ben Yahia (Mersin), Zouhaier Dhaouadi (Club Africain), Yassine Chikhaoui (Zurich), Oussama Darragi (Esperance), Majdi Traoui (Esperance), Youssef Msakni (Esperance)

Strikers: Sami Allagui (Mainz), Amine Chermiti (Zurich), Saber Khelifa (Evian), Issam Jemaa (Auxerre)

As I mentioned in the previous post, it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens with our defense with the additions of Haggui and Jemal. The partnership of Ifa and Abdennour looked quite solid against Catalonia but from Ferid Ben Belgacem’s comments on Soui3a Sport, there are a lot of options in this sector of the pitch. One interesting tidbit that I was unaware of until today is that Hichri and Chammam are both suspended for the first game against Morocco.

That means we’ll almost surely see Jemal on the left side, Haggui or Ifa in the middle next to Abdennour, and either Ifa, Boussaidi, or Ben Yahia on the right. It’s really too bad about Chammam, I like what he brings going forward with the ball at his feet much more than Ammar but our Koln representative is that he has a knack for getting on the scoresheet and is more solid defensively.

Another recent Ben Belgacem comment is that Hatten Baratli has created a selection problem for the technical staff in midfield. Originally brought on as a place-holder for Jamel Saihi, the CAB boy’s performances in Spain have forced Sami Trabelsi to take him to Dubai and maybe even to Gabon thereafter. Ultimately three players need to be dropped from the 26-man list before the deadline of January 11. We’re sending our list to CAF on January 10 apparently.

Who should be dropped? As things stand, I’d pick Houcine Ragued, Walid Hichri, and Issam Jemaa. The guy I feel worst about sending home is Hichri given his role during the 2011 CHAN and 2012 Afcon qualifiers. We probably won’t drop him and it may end up being Baratli despite the youngster’s potential simply because we have a midfield-heavy squad right now. Those would be my choices though.

Ben Belgacem also mentioned that some people may be surprised by who ends up being cut because if an important player isn’t in shape then he won’t be traveling with the team. That sounds like he’s getting Jemaa fans ready for his eventual exclusion. Nothing is certain though… Oh, and expect Yassine Chikhaoui to get increased playing time against Sudan and Cote D’Ivoire.

Which three would you cut?

As far as results go, a 2-0 away win against Basque Country followed up by 0-0 in Barca against the likes of Xavi and company are excellent. No need to be afraid of the word, these are excellent results, not just for us but for anyone (consider that Argentina lost to Catalonia 4-2 when they played). However, there are definitely mixed reviews in terms of how we got there.

Per usual, the main point of contention is what we do with the ball once we’re in possession. We’re far from the offensively clueless looking team of years past but we’re also nowhere near the level we seek to attain. It must be said that our inability to sustain possession for long periods against Iberian sides was expected.

These are teams that are almost unparalleled in their ability to dominate the ball and win it back in advanced areas of the pitch so it’s not that surprising that we struggled to put our attacking imprint on these matches, especially the latter. One thing that was refreshing to see yesterday was that our midfielders and strikers tracked back consistently and contributed significantly in defensive phases.

Defensively, the Ifa/Abdennour combination is looking pretty solid. Definitely a huge improvement over Hichri. Don’t even get me started on Fatah Gharbi. That’s Chammam’s spot for sure. On the right side things are a bit less clear. Boussaidi did fairly well in the first game whereas Ben Yahia held his own there despite it not being his favored position. The Rostov representative probably gets the nod simply by virtue of it being his natural position. Meanwhile, one wonders what happens when we bring Karim Haggui into the picture over the next few weeks.

Does Ifa move out onto the right side? Do we risk insulting Haggui by putting the former captain on the bench in favor of a younger and quicker partnership in central defense? Tough to tell what will happen here. Furthermore, it’s not clear whether we’ve completely given up on Hichri as a starter. He’s not in his best shape but he was a big part of the CHAN 2011 winning side…

Moving up the pitch, our midfield looks fairly solid and is set to be fortified by the arrival of Jamel Saihi. Expect him to get significant minutes in the matches against Sudan and Cote D’Ivoire to determine the best combination between him, Traoui, and Korbi. I think him and Korbi could work well but Traoui will be part of that conversation. Plus it’s always nice to have a veteran like Chedli available for late in games when we need to keep our composure and calm things down. Further up, the eternal Darragi/Chihkaoui debate is something to keep an eye on too.

Even though I think Chikhaoui is the better player overall (and our best player, period), I see the Zurich man coming off the bench to replace Darragi or others in the second half when defenses are tired and at his mercy. For better or for worse, it seems that this is the tactic that Trabelsi favors too. Chikha still needs to prove he can play extensive minutes and we don’t want to push him too hard physically, or risk losing him altogether. Ideally, he’d play from start to finish but I don’t think we have that luxury quite yet.

Apparently Issam Jemaa’s injury isn’t serious… but his lack of form is. Even at his best, he has his detractors and now he’s out of shape and clearly struggling. In contrast, Chermiti looks fit and motivated but what happens when you add Sami Allagui and Sabeur Khelifa to the equation? This isn’t a bad problem to have but it will take some delicate tinkering on Trabelsi’s part to find the winning formula without bruising anyone’s ego.

Oh and I almost forgot, props to Aymen Mathlouthi. There was a time when I wanted him to be replaced at all costs by Rami Jeridi or Ben Cherifia but I’m starting to sway after his performances in Spain. He rarely stop penalties but when he’s playing like he is now, it’s hard to say that he doesn’t deserve to start.

Highlights of both games and plenty of other goodies can be found on TNWCB’s FB page.

The boys are in Spain this evening partying it up. Our coach gave them a deserved night off. Let’s hope they have a good time but don’t overdo it! Speaking of which, happy New Year’s everybody!