World Cup 2022: Tunisia struggling to come to terms with exit
Tunisia are still stewing over their World Cup elimination. The Eagles of Carthage felt they could have achieved more, particularly against Australia
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Tunisia pulled off a stunning result on Wednesday. The Eagles of Carthage beat France, the reigning world champions. But the win proved academic: with 4 points, Jalel Kadri's men finished third and are therefore out of this World Cup. Twenty-four hours on, the Tunisians are still smarting.
Kadri has since taken stock of Tunisia's campaign. He mainly regrets some below-par displays, notably against Denmark in their opening game (0-0). "In the first match against Denmark, if we had pushed up a little higher and been more attacking, we could have won. The same goes for Australia. So, for me, the conclusion is this: it's a good win (against France) for morale but, once again, we have to take a look at ourselves and reflect, then see how we can improve," the head coach told BBC Sport Africa.
"The objective was not achieved…"
Tunisia's victory over France is only the third in the Eagles of Carthage's World Cup history, and the first against a European nation. The match's goalscorer, Wahbi Khazri, echoed his head coach. "They still had top-level players, but we were superb and I think the result is down to us. Of course, we are disappointed to go out because we did not do enough in the first two matches, so we have a slightly bitter taste, but I think we have made the Tunisian people proud."
After this campaign, what of Jalel Kadri's future? The Tunisian coach, appointed after the last Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, preferred to sidestep the question. He passed the ball to the federation. "The objective was not achieved but we still have a little time to look at things before making a final decision. It will be up to the Tunisian federation."