Msakni Offers His Opinion & Various U17 Highlights

Not sure about the song selection here but the video has its moments (even though they fast forward through one of our nicest goals). Watch out for Rafik Dkhil doing his best Cristiano Ronaldo impersonation near the end. Needless to say, the shots of the Tunisian fans going crazy are spliced in and not actual footage of the crowds cheering on our team in Korea. Tunisia hasn’t benefited from very much support at their games but I think that has worked out in their favor. Based on their displays, being far away from home seems to have made them a more focused and tight knit group.

Meanwhile, our leading goalscorer Youssef Msakni has indirectly called me out on my last post. I made the point that the upcoming game against France is something special given the history the two countries share but his comments in a FIFA.com interview after our last match indicate otherwise: “Facing France doesn’t mean anything special, we already played against them in the build-up to the tournament, a game we drew, so we know them well enough.” I’m glad he sees it that way, dude just wants to handle business. A good attitude indeed but I think that Tunisian and French fans will imbue the match with some sense of rivalry (My boy Massaer and I have already begun to do so). It’s not much of a football rivalry though, France is clearly a bigger soccer power. However, the social and cultural rivalry is there and thats what lights a fire under a lot of fans, myself included.

Here’s some segments of the Tajikistan game with Arabic commentary. It’s no secret that this guy is Tunisian and is completely biased when giving analysis. That’s why I love him.