A Useful Test: Tunisia Draws Cote d’Ivoire in Sousse

I’ll update this article with a full match report later tonight but in the meantime I wanted to provide a fresh post where we can discuss the game further.

It was great to see the team play in font of a packed house yesterday. A nice sendoff before our departure for Abuja next month.

Lots of justified complaints about our attack but a rather comforting performance by the backline (minus a few errors we have to address).

I saw some things that were encouraging but it seems people are split down the middle regarding the result and how we approached the match.

More details to come, for now here are the highlights courtesy of Abdullah and team-tunisie.net (readers in Tunisia can watch them there).

Update

Sorry for the delay on this, anyways let’s get right into it. Rather than rehash everything that happened in the match I just want to touch on a few things I noticed regarding the players while alluding to our strategy versus Nigeria along the way.

Lineups

Tunisia: Kasraoui, Souissi, Jemal (Mikari 46’), Ghezal (Felhi 74’), Haggui, Ragued (Ben Yahia), Korbi, Taider (Ben Saâda 46’), Khalfallah (Ghariani 64’), Darragi (Allagui 79’), Jemâa (Zitouni 68’).

Côte d’Ivoire: Bari, Eboué (Agorra 77’), Siaka (Gervori 46’), Zokora, Bamba, Yaya Touré, Romani, Kalou (Seykou 68’), Demel (Maïté 86’), Aruna, Bakari (Cheikh 66’).

Kasraoui: Even though he may not be starting at Lens, the guy is our most experienced international keeper at this point and I have to say I came away rather impressed with his performance. He saved us on a few chances that I definitely thought were going in. Then again, our buddy Houssem from the Etoile blog, who is a goalie himself, says that he made him nervous at some points so maybe I’m alone on this.

Nevertheless, Coelho said that Hamdi needs to either secure a starting place at his new club or find another one where he can do so. Not sure if that’s an indication he’s willing to put someone else in come September 6th but I guess we’ll find out eventually.

Jemal: Solid defensively but didn’t bring anything special offensively and how can you blame him? He’s playing out of position and it’s not his choice. Even though Mikari outplayed him when he came on, given Coelho’s history something tells me he’s going to start in Abuja.

Ghezal: He brought some interesting things to the table and is always a threat on set pieces. I still think about that header he nearly scored against Nigeria in Rades. Speaking of which, we’re looking our most dangerous on corners these days. Hopefully all the ones that we’ve missed will translate into one we finish in a month.

Haggui: Definitely not the Haggui we saw in Kenya. He was unrecognizable back then and the steady minutes he’s getting at Hanover have clearly had an effect. Even pulled a few moves to juke some Ivorian attackers that pleased the crowd. Still though, we don’t want him getting too fancy back there because if he messes one of those up it could cost us dearly. It’s a double edged sword, its good he has the confidence to do it but it also scares the crap out of me. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt though.

Souissi: Same thing I said for Jemal goes for him but he made it further up the field and even made a cross or two. Not terribly accurate ones but when you compare them to the ones he was messing up in Rades it’s a step in the right direction. I’d prefer an in form Boussaidi over him just because he brings more offensively…

Ragued: What can I say? Man of the match by far in my opinion. He even nearly got on the score sheet with that powerful drive from distance. But what I like about him the most is he focuses on his job in midfield and doesn’t give an inch to the adversary. One play in particular stood out, the one where he came from behind and swept the ball away cleanly between an Ivorian striker’s legs. He may do the ugly job that a lot of people don’t want but he actually made it look pretty. Amazing how far he’s come. I remember when people were laughing at his callup when Coelho first arrived on our beautiful shores. He’s definitely proven all the naysayers wrong.

Korbi: Those who frequent the blog frequently (see what I did there? Ok I’ll shut up) know that I’m not his biggest fan but he’s showing that he can offer some things. The question with him is always whether he can control that aggression and channel it correctly. He easily could have gotten a card for extending his leg and provoking the opponent. Not justifying the ensuing actions of the dude that got a red but just saying we don’t want him to pull something stupid in Abuja.

We all know that the officials there are going to be under a great deal of pressure and something like that probably won’t go unpunished. Also, he needs to make better decisions on how far up the field he should go to chase the holder of the ball. I know we want to press and suffocate our opponent but there’s also such a thing as putting yourself in a really bad position on the field by doing so. It’s a balancing act…

Taider: Coelho said he was satisfied with his performance and for a first selection I’d have to say that he gets a passing grade. Didn’t do anything spectacular but you can see signs of potential once he gets the ball. Nevertheless, I really don’t think he should start in Abuja. It’s too late to incorporate him into the starting lineup. Plus he’s not experienced internationally and that’s what we’re going to need in such a high pressure game. I hope Coelho doesn’t overlook that.

FBK: The guy’s a warrior but his last touch left something to be desired. Some good dribbles but he’d be a lot better if he had real support on the wing from a true right back. Too late to put try out Ifa now though even though he’s technically the best player we have at that position. No use throwing the kid into the lions den. If we had relied on him from day one it’d be a different story… Fahid didn’t have his best game for us but he still starts if I was making the picks.

Darragi: A mediocre game by his high standards. Granted he didn’t see as much of the ball as he usually does but he needs to find solutions and make himself available when he’s being marked that closely. Nigerians aren’t going to be surprised by him anymore like they were in Rades (to an extent). He did pull one nice move between those two defenders but that’s hardly enough.

Jemaa: Nothing doing in this game for him really. When he needs to pass he dribbles, when he needs to dribble he passes. His decision making has always been his weak point and sadly it still is. Was unlucky or just poor on that wide open header though, should’ve given us the win. Given his penchant for scoring important goals though he still has his place in the starting eleven. The good thing about him is even though he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, he works his ass off no matter what and poses problems with the pressure he puts on the opposition’s defenders. That steal he got near the touchline is a good example. As was his goal against France etc.

Subs

Mikari: In a perfect world he starts against Nigeria in September. The left side looked so much better when he came in. Intelligent passes and his speed is a big asset too. Jemal might be slightly more solid defensively but honestly I’d be willing to make that sacrifice. Attacking is a form of defending after all.

Felhi: For some reason I’m pulling a blank here. Did he make those mistakes at the end that nearly led to goals Ivorian goals? Someone help me out here because I honestly don’t remember how he played…

Ben Saada: Confirmed his fine run of form at club level and created our best looking opportunity through his accurate left footed corner kick. He should start instead of Taider in Nigeria. No question about that one in my mind. So happy to have him back.

Ghariani: Rather wasteful but I liked his audacity on the long range lob he attempted. He’s got skills but to me when all our players are healthy I don’t think he has a place in our team. For now he’s grown to be a part of it. I just hope that if he gets into the Nigeria match he plays like he did in Kenya, not like he did on Wednesday.

Allagui: Didn’t really have much time to show that much and the only ball he had a good chance of exploiting was taken away because a foul got whistled on the build up play. He doesn’t seem fast enough to trouble Nigeria’s athletic backline. I know he can score goals but getting in a position to do so is more important. If Chermiti were in his best shape he’d have this role of coming in late to try to nab a goal.

Zitouni: All I really remember is him taking a shot from far out and missing by a few feet. Other than that, wasn’t impressive at all. Lassad can’t come back soon enough…

Meanwhile, let it be said that the Sousse crowd really brought the energy and supported our player the way a team should. I didn’t hear regionalistic chants (correct me on this if I’m wrong) and there were only a few whistles for Korbi and Ben Yahia. Speaking of Ben Yahia, I didn’t even mention him. Basically because he barely even featured in the match. He gets an incomplete, you can’t judge him on this performance. A lot of people think he’s a waste of space on the NT. Even though I love him for CA I have to say that he hasn’t done anything of note in international matches. He may be riding the bench in Abuja.

Not sure what else to say except I really think this match was a good tune up and I personally didn’t find it boring. Boring if you compare it to a European encounter of high caliber maybe but not boring if you think back to just how incredibly boring we were under Lemerre in his latter years (seriously, do you guys remember that Burkina Faso match!).

There’s a clear effort to play the ball faster and develop a short passing game. It’s just when Darragi goes semi invisible and you don’t have a creative element in midfield like a Chikhaoui it’s not very easy to break down a fast and athletic defense.

That’s going to be our challenge in Abuja but honestly that match has the makings of us going there to defend our asses off and hope some decent passing leads to a killer counter. And what else would you expect, that’s the Tunisian way as of late. It’s got us to first place in the group, hopefully it’ll help us keep it there.

Coelho got a chance to see what is working and what isn’t. Let’s just hope he now has enough knowledge to make the decisions that will help us get the result we need. His record is pretty positive and there’s no reason we can’t extend it for a few more matches to book our tickets to South Africa. Whatever the case, whether you agree with him or not: It’s our country and we’ll support it for better or worse. We have it in us, the situation is far from perfect but I saw a group of players that were dedicated and willing to work hard. You can’t ask for more than that from them.