African Cup of Nations Group D Preview: Tunisia

Les Aigles de Carthage (The Eagles of Carthage) have tasted success in the African Cup of Nations before, winning the tournament as hosts in 2004 by defeating local rivals Morocco 2-1 in the final. The victory has been the pinnacle of their footballing achievements, alongside being the first African team to win a match in the World Cup, beating Mexico 3-1 at Argentina ’78. Tunisia have also been runners-up twice and have qualified for every tournament since 1994.

Tunisia are the current holders of the African Nations Championship (not to be confused with the ACN!), winning the last tournament in 2011 by destroying Angola 3-0 in the final. We know the team has a winning pedigree, but can they win in South Africa?

How Did They Qualify?

Barely. In one of the closest matched ties of the Second Round of qualification, Tunisia were paired up with Sierra Leone. A 2-2 draw in the first leg put Tunisia in the driving seat due to the away goals rule, and this ultimately put them through, as a 0-0 bore draw in Monastir sent them through to their 16th finals.

Manager

Sami Trabelsi was part of the 1998 Tunisian World Cup squad, and his performances there linked him to big moves all across Europe. Despite the rumours, he spent most of his playing career in the Tunisian leagues. After his retirement, Sami coached Tunisia’s Olympic football team before eventually progressing to the international head coach role in October 2011, becoming Tunisia’s third manager in three months. Luckily, he lasted longer than previous manager Ammar Souyah!

Key Men

Aymen Mathlouthi is the country’s top goalkeeper and currently international team captain. To date, he has 38 caps to his name and like most of Africa’s top goalies, is a stonking shot-stopper with cat-like agility. He made his name in the 2006 African Champions League by keeping numerous clean sheets for Étoile du Sahel throughout the duration of the tournament.

Issam Jemaa is Tunisia’s all-time top scorer, with 32 goals in 68 games at the time of writing. Starting his career with Tunisian giants Esperance, the striker moved to RC Lens in 2005, leaving the club in 2011 with 20 goals in 114 league games. He then moved to Auxerre but failed to hit the same heights, eventually being loaned out to Brest.

According to Wikipedia, Issam received the ‘Ball of Metal Lead’ award of 2012 for being the player who ‘concentrates the most negative opinion on him during a year’. Assuredly ashamed of this, he moved to Qatari side Kuwait SC.

Jemaa has always performed a lot better at international level and was top scorer at the 2010 ACN. Tunisia will be hoping he finds his shooting boots once more.

Oussama Darragi is the side’s playmaker and his skills have won him the Tunisian League Player of the Year in 2010 the African-based African Player of the Year in 2011. An attacking midfielder by trade, he moved to Sion in the summer after a long spell with Esperance. He made his international début in 2009, and has quickly amassed 35 caps since then. Tunisia place the ball at his feet, and the opposing team could be in trouble.

LUBANGO, ANGOLA – JAN13 2010: Karim Haggui of Tunisia gestures to Oussama Darragi of Tunisia during the ACN match between Zambia from the Alto da Chela Stadium.

How Far Can They Go?

In a very tough Group with Ivory Coast, Algeria and Togo, it’s hard to confidently pick. I can’t see past Ivory Coast for top, and with Group C probably having one of Zambia or Nigeria to play second place, I don’t see Tunisia getting past either team.

Quarter-finals at best.