With Less Pressure and a World Cup Qualification Almost Secured, Sami Trabelsi and His Team Don't Need to Fall Back on Defensive Reflexes to Settle for the Bare Minimum.
La Presse — After their victory over Liberia, the Tunisian team has strengthened its chances of obtaining its 7th qualification for a World Cup final phase. The defeat of its runner-up (Namibia) in the group stage has accentuated these chances. With a significant 7-point lead over this main competitor, the ticket to the American World Cup will not escape the Eagles of Carthage, unless an incredible scenario unfolds. National team coach Sami Trabelsi is likely eager to not delay the joy of qualification and to seek the points that separate them from happiness through a victory on Guinean soil. The good second half against Liberia showed that his team has offensive players capable of achieving this goal two days before the end of the qualifiers.
Will he prioritize audacity over caution to return with the long-awaited success, or will he succumb to the temptation of a wait-and-see approach with lightning-fast counter-attacks to finish these qualifiers without defeat and perhaps without conceding a single goal? Two well-reinforced lines in defense and midfield to protect the access to Dahmen's goal and keep it intact in this group stage, or a high press and a real spider's web in front to spice up the game, create many opportunities, and win the three points hands down?
Far from statistics and the pursuit of records for history, logic dictates that we should no longer revert to a system of play that sacrifices spectacle for result preservation. The approach to follow for today's match, despite its high stakes, can only be a perfect repetition of the excellent performance in the second half against Liberia. We cannot go back on all the promises made in terms of collective offensive animation, with a rapid exit from our zone and an effective transition game that has borne fruit.
The Trio of Gharbi, Sliti, and Sâad from the Start
Three changes are expected compared to the starting lineup against Liberia. Ismaël Gharbi will replace Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane in midfield, thanks to his qualities as a liaison player between the lines and his ability to make vertical runs. Naïm Sliti will replace Amor Lâayouni on the right side of the attack for more balance and liveliness in the game on the wings. Elias Sâad will occupy the left flank for more power, physical presence, speed, and quality of dribbling to open up breaches in the Guinean defense. These three players, in addition to being instinctive players who think a lot on the field to serve the collective, have a leader's soul that likes and assumes their responsibilities as attacking players who must be performant in both creation and finishing. Elias Achouri and Amor Lâayouni will remain important wildcards to use during the game.
With players positioned high on the sides to percussion and attack, create spaces and shifts to better stretch the opposing block, with the contribution of the full-backs, Yann Valery and Mortadha Ben Ouannès, who do their offensive job well with regular runs on their respective corridors while perfectly fulfilling their defensive tasks, Sami Trabelsi has good offensive potential to opt for an attacking game and team. This match against Equatorial Guinea is a great opportunity for him and his protégés to produce a quality game, play to win and seduce, and not be content with playing not to lose and not breaking the beautiful record of invincibility in this group stage.
