Tunisia Staying in Tamale

Sure the game wasn’t anything to write home about but it wasn’t a bore draw either. We started out looking for a goal but you can’t expect the players to take unnecessary risks when they know in the back of their minds that all they needed was a tied scoreline to secure first place and ensure that they stayed in their hotel to celebrate and prepare for the next match. As it is we could have conceded goals quite easily if it wasn’t for great goalkeeping from Hamdi Kasraoui. I had my doubts in him before the tournament but honestly so far he’s been practically beyond reproach. It’s not like we have a viable second option anyway with Aymen Mathlouthi suffering from a little injury that is keeping him out right now. Hopefully Hamdi continues to be a good safety net back there.

Amine Chermiti came the closest to scoring and showed a tiny bit of rust on that open header but gave a respectable performance. Some players would not have been able to play it back across goal like that and his intention was good but the execution was off as he just pushed it a little too hard. In 90 minutes he showed what he can offer in terms of sheer vivacity. Sometimes his feet move so fast that the kid just looks like a blur on the field… Kamel Zaiem also gave a decent performance in which he showed his free kick accuracy as well as having the presence of mind to test the Angolan goalie from distance (something no one else really tried apart from Issam Jemaa on a wild shot).

I am also happy with Chaker Zouaghi who won practically all of his duels today in midfield, a much improved performance from the first two games. No one made any real glaring mistakes and another positive is that our players came out of the game without incurring a suspension for our next match. That will put a smile on the faces of a technical staff which has proved it likes to switch things up depending on the opponent. In just three games we’ve confirmed what fans of Tunisia football knew all along: The Tunisian player is extremely tactically aware, with a great sense for what it takes to get the desired result.

So 3 games, 5 points, 5 goals, 3 conceded, and 3 different lineups so far. That’s a lot of numbers but the most important is the number 1 as we finished first in a tough group that included no pushovers. If you had told that to a lot of people before the tournament started, they wouldn’t have believed you and I don’t blame them because our preparations left a lot to be desired. Still though, here we are and things go back to zero now. We must start fresh as every match is a final from here on out. They say you don’t win the African Cup without defeating tough teams and who could argue with that.

Our first opponent will be none other than Samuel Eto’o Fils‘ Cameroon. I will save material for the preview when the time comes but let me say that I am confident that we have the tools to knock them out. So I say to our boys, enjoy the result tonight and get back to work tomorrow bright and early. If we want to go far, we must stay concentrated. Thank you for making sure the star and crescent continue to wave in the second round of Ghana 2008.

For more analysis, visit Beurkman who has Al Shawt Al Thaleth in its entirety. Here is what the players and staff had to say.

The Highlights