At the end, Tunisia were all smiles. The omnipresent Wahbi Khazri hugged his colleagues and congratulated the Panama players for their maiden World Cup campaign.
The Tunisians greeted their fans and midfielder anchor Ellyes Skhiri walked over to another stand to applaud the Tunisia faithful. The Carthage Eagles were celebrating a first World Cup win since defeating Mexico at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. They finished third behind group winners Belgium and England in Group G, taking solace from a second-half fightback against Panama to win 2-1.
“This is a historic victory for the Tunisian team,” said Fakhreddine Ben Youssef who scored against Panama. “We wanted to snatch a win. I wanted to score and I did. Again, this is a great day for Tunisia.
“As for the assessment of our performance, there are fans and witnesses. We will be able to assess it properly and we will be able to bridge all the gaps later on. This was our first opportunity to play in the World Cup in a long time, so perhaps we did not achieve the results that we wanted.”
In their opener the North Africans had suffered heartbreak against England, succumbing to a last-gasp header from Tottenham striker Harry Kane. Tunisia subsequently abandoned their cautious approach against Belgium, but that backfired in an even heavier defeat, 5-2. The Carthage Eagles were too open and the heavily fancied Belgians ran riot.
“You also have to say the way it is: The two big nations were on top,” said Khazri. “They deserve to qualify and we deserve the third place.”
Against Panama, arguably the weakest proposition in the group, Tunisia struck the balance right and won deservedly, maintaining their composure when trailing and getting a reward for their slick and attacking football with neatly crafted second-half goals from Ben Youssef and Khazri, ensuring a historic, first World Cup finals victory in 40 years and an upbeat end to their campaign in Russia.
“It is a victory that feels good in the last game,” said substitute Anice Badri. “We had the heart to shatter that stretch of 40 years that we hadn’t won at a World Cup. So, it was important to finish the group stages well. It was a difficult match. A good second half, so we have three points. The group standings are logic.”
“It is certain that we wanted to do better, but we landed difficult opponents and it wasn’t easy,” said defender Yohan Ben Alouane.
“We had difficult matches, but we are growing step by step. It is a young team with potential. In life you never loose. When you lose, you learn. In this competition we have learned and that is going to be important for the future.”
In Russia, Tunisia were the fourth-youngest squad with an average age of 26.5 years, just behind France, England and Nigeria. This new generation of players and their World Cup experience must propel the Carthage Eagles to greater heights in Africa, starting at the 2019 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon. Tunisia last won the continental competition in 2004 and never reached the last four in the last two editions.
“Honestly, we would like to do better than the quarterfinals and we should try to reach the semifinal,” said midfielder Naim Sliti. “The World Cup will help us to be better in Africa, to make a big impression in Africa and then do better in four years time.”
The future of coach Nabil Maaloul, however, remains in doubt. Maaloul, who succeeded Poland’s Henryk Kasperczak after the 2017 African Cup of Nations, was tight-lipped at a news conference when asked about his position with Tunisia. The 55-year-old is left to mull over a campaign in which Tunisia scored a record five goals, but did not fulfil its potential.
“He has shown his qualities,” said Ben Alouane. “Of course, people will begin to talk, but we are all behind the coach. Really, he is an extraordinary person and we are all proud of having played the World Cup with him.”
Tunisia set their sights on African Cup of Nations after landmark World Cup win
Tunisia set their sights on African Cup of Nations after landmark World Cup win
- Win over Panama should provide a springboard
- 'The World Cup will help us to be better in Africa'
Shakib Al-Hasan shines as MI Emirates down table-toppers Desert Vipers by 4 wickets
- All-round performance helped move the team back to second in the points table
DUBAI: MI Emirates registered a composed four-wicket victory over the table toppers Desert Vipers to seal their third straight win in the DP World ILT20 Season 4 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. After a disciplined bowling performance in the first innings, MI Emirates overcame early pressure before Kieron Pollard and Shakib Al-Hasan guided the team to victory.
The Desert Vipers managed to score 124 courtesy of Dan Lawrence’s gritty 35 off 34 balls, but MI Emirates navigated a tricky chase with relative ease. With the ball, spinner Al-Hasan’s two wickets for 14 runs led the charge and kept the Vipers in check, before Zahoor Khan’s death bowling ensured the total remained below par.
In reply, MI Emirates stumbled in the powerplay and lost momentum in the middle overs, but Pollard’s 26 off 15 balls flipped the contest decisively. Even after his dismissal, Al-Hasan held firm to see the chase through, striking the winning boundary to complete a controlled four-wicket win with 15 balls to spare.
MI Emirates endured a slow powerplay as the Vipers applied sustained pressure. David Payne set the tone early, removing Jonny Bairstow (5 off 5), while Lockie Ferguson struck to dismiss Muhammad Waseem (18 off 13). They finished the powerplay with 35/2 on the board.
The batting side lost momentum through the middle overs as the Vipers bowlers tightened the screws. Nicholas Pooran (17 off 17) mounted a brief counterattack with two sixes but was trapped LBW by Lawrence. Wickets fell at regular intervals, including Tom Banton (10 off 10) being bowled by a sharp Qais Ahmad delivery.
Then, skipper Pollard swung the momentum decisively, taking Ahmad apart with a pair of sixes in the 15th over that turned the chase in MI Emirates’ favor. He was eventually dismissed by Matiullah Khan, but Al-Hasan (17* off 25) held his nerve, anchoring the finish before striking the winning boundary off Matiullah to close the chase at 124/6 in 17.3 overs.
In the first innings, the Vipers made a subdued start in the powerplay, as Chris Woakes was excellent up front, conceding just 15 runs from his three overs. Allah Ghazanfar struck the key blow by removing Max Holden (20 off 18). Fakhar Zaman (13 off 13) tried to build momentum, but the lack of boundaries and regular dots ensured the Vipers were restricted to 35/1 after six overs.
MI Emirates tightened their grip through the middle overs as Al-Hasan struck twice in a miserly spell to remove Zaman and Sam Curran (4 off 4), conceding just eight runs in two overs. Arab Gul added to the pressure by dismissing Hasan Nawaz (13 off 19), leaving the Vipers reeling after losing three wickets in as many overs and the score at 54/4 at the halfway mark of their innings.
Lawrence and Jason Roy (14 off 18) showed intent in patches, adding a cautious stand of 42 runs in 40 balls, but boundaries were scarce. Al-Hasan capped an outstanding spell, leaving the Vipers with little impetus. Khan delivered a decisive final over, finishing with two for 17, as regular wickets in the death overs ensured the Vipers were kept in check, leaving MI Emirates a manageable target of 125 to seal the chase.
Al-Hasan said: “It was a surface that suited the spinners, and the focus was on hitting the right areas consistently. I was able to do that today, which was pleasing. I’m glad it helped the team. Batting wasn’t easy on this pitch either. With so many powerful hitters in our lineup, someone needed to play the anchoring role, and I was happy to take on that responsibility to make sure we finished the chase.”
Desert Vipers stand-in skipper Curran commented: “It was another low-scoring game on a tricky surface. The pitch was slow, and facing a side like MI Emirates, who have high-quality spinners with a lot of variation, made it even tougher. Despite that, I thought our bowlers put in a strong effort. With qualification already secured, we chose to rotate the squad, and what happened to Lockie reinforces the importance of managing workloads.”
