U17 World Cup: Tunisia Unable to Hold Off France

I’m sad to report that Tunisia was outdone by a well organized French team in the last sixteen of the U17 World Cup. The game, which went to extra time, finished 3-1 in favor of the French side. From the outset, France seemed to have put a lid on our dynamic playmaker Nour Hadhria. It was clear that they had done their homework as Hadhria struggled to get touches in the first half. Mossaab Sassi looked our most dangerous option with some very impressive runs down the left side while Khaled Ayari also looked pretty good on the right. Unfortunately, the rain that poured down on Changwon stadium seemed to expose gaping holes in our defense as France looked the better side in the beginning stages. On an individual level it was comforting to see that the technique hadn’t deserted us. There were some nice bits of skill being shown by a number of our boys who were doing their best to find ways to launch successful attacks. However, they looked quite shaky at the back as France successfully employed a pressing game that upset our offensive rhythm. Collectively we looked out of sync and France was winning the tactical battle. In the 43rd minute France made the most of their first half dominance when Givet scored from a direct free kick. Not only was it a terrible time to concede a goal (right before halftime) but it was also a terrible mistake from the Goalkeeper Tounsi who anticipated that Givet was going left when he should have just stayed put. It was a silly way for France to go up but given how they controlled the first half, going into the break down one goal wasn’t a catastrophe.

As the second half got underway, I was wondering how the team was going to respond to being led for the first time in the tournament. It didn’t take long for me to receive an answer as the kid who had been practically shut down in the first half (Hadhria) scored on a spectacular long distance strike only four minutes into the half. After the game, he was quoted saying it was rather lucky. I guess he would know best, but it looked amazing. It was the first shot on frame and it resulted in a goal; you couldn’t ask for much more than that for an ideal way to mount a comeback. After that, France looked rather flustered for a very long stretch as Tunisia started to show why they won all their games in the group stages. The classy passing was back and the players were linking up with each other fluidly. The defense still struggled at times as France had a few good chances, but we had a lot more possession and shot attempts than they did early in the 2nd half. We looked almost certain to score again until the 76th minute where a defensive mistake led to a one on one for France. Karoui came in from behind to put pressure but his swipe ended up bringing down the attacker and resulted in a penalty and straight red for our redheaded defender. Nothing wrong with the decision. Habib Tounsi, who had already saved a penalty in the previous match atoned for his earlier mistake by guessing right (literally) and saving the poor shot from Riviere.

A man down, Tunisia continued to battle but couldn’t get forward much and seemed to have their heart set on penalty kicks. It wasn’t a bad strategy considering France had already missed one in their game against Haiti (not to mention this one) and perhaps had a little less confidence in their abilities then a Tunisian side that had converted all three of their penalties kicks in the tournament. Kanzari’s tactical change to take out Hadhria in favor of a more defensive midfielder (Makhzoumi) showed that we were indeed trying to hold on to the result. The full time whistle sounded and extra time proved difficult for the Eaglets who saw another one of their attackers (Khaled Ayari) be taken off in favor of a stabilizing force in midfield (Wazani).

Unfortunately this wasn’t enough to stop a moment of individual brilliance by Le Tallec who canceled out two defenders with a series of dribbles and then scored with his left. With their chances of getting through to the second round fading, 10 man Tunisia pressed forward to the best of their abilities but the only person that looked capable of making a difference was Sassi despite being a little isolated on the left side. Dkhil did his best to help out but Tunisia was caught on the counter as they looked to equalize and ended up conceding the dagger. Le Tallec dispatched another chance efficiently in the 105th minute and it was all but over. The second half of extra time provided little drama as Tunisia was physically spent and lacked offensive imagination. The game ended 3-1.

It was a fair result but an unfortunate one for our boys that gave it everything they had. Being down a man cost us as it forced us into substitutions that allowed France to regain control after a 30 minute spell in which we looked more likely to score the winner. It’s not the end of the world. Tunisia can take away a lot of positives from their participation in this U17 World Cup. We have learned a great deal about the strong character of our young players as well as the brilliant attacking talent that will someday be available to the senior team. Simply getting through to the second stage was an achievement in and of itself for Tunisian soccer as a whole. No Tunisian team has ever done that in any age group. These guys have seemed to lose the inferiority complex that the older generation exhibits practically every time they are on the world stage (we do well in Africa, but world cups have been another story altogether). Perhaps we peaked a little too early in the tournament. Too bad our letdown came in a game we couldn’t afford to lose. Whatever the case, you can’t take anything away from these kids. They really gave us a lot to cheer for and a lot to look forward to. Hopefully they continue on this path to future successes. Thank you Eaglets, enjoy the a little bit of well deserved rest and home cooking. Hopefully we see this same group which has already been together four years progress more with time and qualify for the next U20 World Cup that will be held in Egypt in 2009. This experience will undoubtedly help them and solidify their winning mentality.

I for one will miss waking up at ridiculous hours to catch their games. Thank you Eaglets, you did us proud!