Tunisia vs. Burundi: The Return Leg Preview

June 20th, 2008 | by: Rami | Comments(8)

After a few road wins, the Carthage Eagles will be back at Rades tomorrow and looking a tad better than when they were last there. It might feel like they’re back to the scene of the crime tomorrow, with the stadium conjuring up images of that brutal unraveling against Burkina Faso.

The situation will be different for a number of reasons:

1. Humberto Coelho: I reported before that he would be in Seychelles to see the squad in action but that turned out to be wrong. He was in his homeland offering Euro 2008 analysis for a Portuguese TV station. All our recent games have been recorded for him and he’s scheduled to have a sit down with Lemerre before the Frenchman leaves but tomorrow he won’t need any advice since he’ll be in the stands taking in the match like the rest of us. His presence should provide more impetus for the players to showcase their skills. You know what they say about first impressions…

2. The Players: They’ve heard the criticism from the last home game and they will certainly want to redress the balance of public opinion. There’s so much skepticism about this team that the only way to sway people will be to demolish Burundi. We’re not just looking for a win, we’re looking for a stylish win that will raise morale. There’s always gonna be someone in the background saying this isn’t even a team we should be struggling against and they’re semi right. It’s not the best measuring stick but we have to take what we can get right now.

3. Roger Lemerre: In his last game in charge one would think he wants to leave on a good note. It’s too late to mend the bridges he’s burnt with the majority of the journalists and fans but a dominant performance tomorrow might ensure that he doesn’t get heavily booed off the field. A mediocre performance or loss wouldn’t be the send off that he envisioned. We’ve touched on this guys positives and negatives before and I’m not gonna waste more ink on him right now. As much as I want to see him go, I don’t want him to leave on a bad note.

The Potential Lineup:

Keep in mind I’ve got every single one of these wrong so far. I absolve myself of all responsibility by quoting where I get them from. This time it’s not Le Temps but Radio Tunis. Do note that Radhi Jaidi is suspended after the two yellows he collected.

————————Balbouli—————————

Hammami——–Felhi——Ghzel———Mikari

—————Mnari—————Nafkha————-

——————–Ben Saada————————

Chermiti————-Ben Dhifallah———-Jemaa

He’s sticking to what’s been working recently in terms of only using two defensive midfielders. That’s positive but as usual I have my problems with it. I’d be a much happier man if Mouihbi was starting in place of Jomaa and if Ben Yahia was instead of Nafkha. If I had to choose only one though I’d ask for Ben Yahia to get a full game. I haven’t seen anything from him in the national team and I’m convinced he could offer a lot.

In the press conference earlier today he admitted he’s dying to get on the pitch from the very start. He also said that he thinks Lemerre contributed to Tunisian football but that he made mistakes in the 2006 World Cup. If Lemerre heard him say that, don’t be surprised if we don’t see Wissem at all. Meanwhile, everyone knows what Mouihbi can do. He moved the whole right side almost singlehandedly when he came into that Seychelles match two weeks ago. If he comes on as a substitute again I’d expect him to do much of the same. On another note, I’d love to see Darragi finally get some run. We called him up, may as well test him out…

The six points we gathered on their recent trip has calmed down the players but it hasn’t shielded them from the demands of the Tunisian sporting public who are mostly unimpressed with how things are going right now. Call us demanding but we like to see our teams play nicely while winning. For now I’ll just take three points and style as a bonus. However, considering the new rules put in place by CAF earlier this week, it behooves us to let the goals rain down in Rades.

The match is tomorrow (June 21st) at 8:30 PM Tunis Time and will show on TV7. I know some Tunisia World Cup Blog readers will be there from previous comments. Have fun guys! Hopefully there’s other people with you there too since there’s a Euro quarterfinal kicking off at the same time.