Tunisia Defeats Tajikistan and Keeps 100% Record in U17 World Cup. Next up, France!

Tunisia took on Tajikistan in their final round robin match of the U17 World Cup today and came through with a 1-0 win to seal their place at the top of group E. Let it be known that Tunisia and fellow African qualifiers Nigeria are the only teams to get the perfect 9 points from 3 games. The result is a good one for us because it means that we face France in the round of 16 instead of Spain which would have likely been a tougher opponent. I haven’t seen the French team play but I think it’s fair to say that you don’t want to face the European title holders (that would be Spain) in your first elimination match. In any case, the next game (Aug. 29th) will be an all francophone affair which should be entertaining (both in terms of soccer and the level of aggressiveness that the teams will likely display). The two countries have quite a history and sometimes that can play into these encounters. The fact that the players can insult each other with ease never helps. Let’s hope both teams refrain from this and concentrate on winning the match. Anyways, I’m getting a little ahead of myself… What about what happened tonight?

Since we had already guaranteed qualification, Maher Kanzari decided to rest our starting strike force (Ayari and Msakni) as well as our midfield anchor (Hadhria). Even the goalkeeper was different (more on that later). Out of eleven players that took the field in the first half, only four were starters. The effects of this were clear as Tajikistan, which unlike us needed a result to be absolutely sure of getting through the group stages, controlled the flow early. One of their shots rattled the right post to give us an early scare and then it looked like they would deservedly go up by one goal on a penalty conceded by a Marzouki lunge. However, our second string goalkeeper Habib Tounsi had other ideas as he guessed correctly and made an impressive right handed save going to his left. From then on Tajikistan continued to press but Tunisia began to come into their own even though the slick passing that was on display in the previous games was only there in inconsistent flashes. Unfortunately Mossaeb Sassi’s first goal of the tournament continued to elude him as he struck the post with a left footed shot from long distance. The sides went into their respective dressing rooms still tied, with Tajikistan having slightly edged Tunisia in terms of quality.

From the outset of the second half it was clear that Maher Kanzari was not thinking about settling for a draw. The idea perhaps being that a negative result would adversely affect the teams psyche going into the elimination stages. He took off both Mejri and Abbes who had been ineffective and brought on the big guns (Msakni and Ayari). The changes started paying dividends right away as the Eaglets began to keep possession better and get more shots off. Even with two of our best strikers in there, it must be said that our team is simply not the same without Hadhria orchestrating the attack. His Pirlo-esque ability to slow down (in this case, a good thing) and simplify the game make him an incredible asset. That is why it makes sense for Kanzari to have rested him. The kid played the full 90 minutes in both games before this and in one of those he had to carry quite a load defensively when we were a man down for almost an entire half. It is safe to say that we need him to be in fine form if we are to go further in this tournament.

The playmaker couldn’t have been too concerned as Tunisia took firm control of the match and started attacking from all angles. Sassi was unlucky to be denied again, this time on a header coming from a Bilel Ifa cross. Boughanmi also missed an excellent chance to put us up but thankfully Msakni made no mistake in the 82nd minute on a beautiful right footed volley that gave us the lead and brought his goal tally to 3 in the tournament. Once Dkhil started turning on the style and wowing spectators with his fancy footwork it was clear the result was basically no longer in doubt. I believe Tajikistan will go through despite the loss but the win gives the USA a chance to qualify as 3rd place finishers in group E depending on what happens to Ghana in its match versus Colombia. It’s rather hard to keep track of all the second round qualification issues in this tournament but luckily we haven’t had to deal with that stress. All thanks goes to our boys for pulling through and lifting the star and crescent higher than they have ever been at an international competition.