Tunisia: The African champions want to improve their World Cup record

After winning their first ever African title in 2004, Tunisia was the only country tipped for success on their continent to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The team coached by Frenchman Roger Lemerre assured victory in Group 5 with a 2-2 (1-2) draw against rivals Morocco on October 8, 2005, thus ascertaining the ticket to the finals in Germany. Tunisia’s team left a good impression at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup despite their elimination after the first round. Though they lost their matches against the favourites Argentina (2-1) and Germany (3-0), they performed well. In their last match they beat Oceania champions Australia 2-0. But the North Africans want to fare even better at their fourth World Cup participation in the summer of 2006.

Here you can find information about the star of the team ...

“Striving for the second win in a World Cup match” is the aim of the Tunisian Football Association, founded in 1956. The country with around 10 million inhabitants attracted immediate attention at their first World Cup participation in Argentina 1978, when the team defeated Mexico 3-1. It was a historic event in Africa because it was the first ever World Cup win by a national team from that continent. They then lost 1-0 to Poland and survived a sensational goalless draw against Germany, then the reigning World Cup champions. Though that was not sufficient to get into the second group stage, the Tunisians returned home with their heads held high.

This first World Cup participation has remained the most successful to date. Tunisia’s World Cup record now reads: one win, three draws and five defeats, with a goal tally of 5-9. In France 1998 Tunisia, under the direction of Polish coach Henri Kasperczak, lost to England and Colombia, and achieved a draw against Romania. Four years later at the World Cup in Asia they suffered defeats by Russia and Japan and drew against Belgium, this time with the coaching duo of Ammar Souayah and Khemais Labidi.

After finishing 28th at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and Souayah resigned, the Tunisians contracted Frenchman Roger Lemerre as coach in September, after his sacking as France’s national coach following their surprising elimination in the first round. Lemerre, who led the French to the 2000 European title, was then Tunisia’s fifth national coach within just 13 months.

Roger Lemerre, who was voted the world’s best national coach in 2000 by his colleagues in a poll for the International Football Association, FIFA, achieved stability. Najed Braham, who is playing in Germany’s third league with Eintracht Trier, considers Lemerre the mastermind of the recent success. “We have all learned a lot from him. He gives all players confidence because he talks to us a lot. He has taught us the right professional mentality”, Braham explains. The 54-year-old coach even improved his esteem among the Tunisian football fans when his team won the Africa Cup on February 14, 2004. Sixty thousand spectators at Rades watched Tunisia defeat Morocco 2-1 in the final of the African Continental Championship, hosted by Tunisia. The team had made the final twice before; in 1965 they lost to the Ivory Coast 3-2 after extra time, and in 1996 to South Africa 2-0.

The qualification for the 2006 World Cup was not straightforward, however. A 4-1 opening victory over Botswana was followed by a second match 2-1 defeat by Guinea on June 20, 2004, but that eventually remained the only loss. At the end of 2004, Lemerre’s team was lying in fourth place in the group with just five points from four matches. But then they achieved a series of wins against Malawi, Botswana, Guinea and Kenya resulting in top position before the last and decisive group match against Morocco. The first match in Rabat ended in a 1-1 draw, and in the away match Tunisia was 1-0 down after just three minutes: Brazil-born Jose Clayton, an experienced defender who played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, scored the equalizer with a penalty in the 18thminute, but Tunisia’s joy did not last long as Morocco regained the lead in the 42nd minute through Marouane Chamarh. Adel Chadli, who plays for 1. FC Nuremberg in the German Bundesliga, was credited with the equalizer for 2-2, but it appeared to be a 69th minute own goal by Moroccan Talal El Karkouri which decided the World Cup qualification Group 5.

The joy in Tunisia was immense, while Morocco grieved. Morocco’s team was the only one in Africa that remained undefeated (5 wins, 5 draws) but in the end it was not enough to prevent Tunisia going through. On the other hand, the group winners were the only African team among the favourites to ultimately qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, because all the other four African qualifiers are newcomers.

The regular team of the African champions include several legionnaires: Goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel (Rouen/France), who will be 40 years old at the 2006 World Cup, defenders Alaeddine Yahia (St. Etienne/France) and captain Hatem Trabelesi (Ajax Amsterdam/Netherlands), midfielders Mehdi Nafti (Birmingham City/England), Adel Chedly (Nuremberg/Germany), Riadh Bouazizi (Kayseri Exciyesspor/Turkey)), Slim Ben Achour (Guimaraès/ Portugal), Jose Clayton (Essod/Qatar), Kaies Ghodbane (Samsunsport/Turkey) and forwards Stürmer Francileudo Dos Santos (Toulouse/France), Zied Jaziri (Troyes/France) and Najed Braham (Trier/Germany) play abroad. Striker Francileudo Dos Santos Lima, who was born in Brazil and has been playing in France for a long time, accepted Tunisian nationality only shortly before the 2004 African Cup. He and his team-mates want to achieve more victories at the 2006 World Cup to add to Tunisia’s first and only win 28 years ago.

Here you can find more information about the team from Tunisia...

Here you can find more information about the star of the team from Tunisia...

Here you can find more information about the trainer of the team from Tunisia...