The list for Peru

February 21st, 2012 | by: Rami | Comments Off

Sami Trabelsi has revealed his 21-man roster for our international friendly against Peru that is set for a 7:00 pm Tunisia time kick-off on February 29.

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.