Tunisia Dominates Sao Tome and Principe 6-0
The Tunisian national team faced off against Sao Tome and Principe in a match with little at stake, aside from improving their FIFA ranking, as their qualification for the 2026 World Cup was already secured. This presented an ideal opportunity for the national team's coach to rotate his squad, giving young players like Mohamed Belhaj Mahmoud, Elyes Saâd, and Ismaël Gharbi a chance to shine, while also testing new tactical approaches.
Of these three young players, two found the back of the net on Friday evening. Elyes Saâd scored a beautiful goal, doubling the lead, after being served by Naïm Sliti. Saâd took his time, dribbling before unleashing a stunning shot. He later scored a second goal, courtesy of a lovely assist from Ali Abdi.
Mohamed Belhaj Mahmoud was close to scoring, but his shot hit the crossbar. Nevertheless, he created the only dangerous Tunisian opportunity in the first 35 minutes, during which Sao Tome and Principe put up a good fight before eventually collapsing.
Ismaël Gharbi, on the other hand, opened his account with the national team in style, scoring a goal for the ages. After taking his time to dribble in the penalty area, he unleashed a powerful shot that left the Sao Tome and Principe goalkeeper speechless.
While the Tunisian attack had struggled to find solutions for a long time, Belhaj Mahmoud, Saâd, and Gharbi resolved this issue. Among these three promising young players, Ismael Gharbi emerged as the new creator, provoking a penalty that was converted by Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane. He also stood out for his boundless energy, providing solutions to his attacking teammates.
A New Role for Ben Romdhane
In this match against Sao Tome and Principe, which was essentially a training session, Sami Trabelsi tested Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane in the left winger position. The Al Ahly central midfielder had no difficulty adapting to this new role on Friday evening. However, it is difficult to make a definitive judgment given the weakness of the opponent and the limited playing time allocated to Ben Romdhane, who came on in the 61st minute. A 30-minute stint against a weak opponent is not enough to make a final assessment.
That being said, if Ben Romdhane succeeds in this new role, he will provide an additional solution to the Tunisian attack.
In brief, the crushing 6-0 victory over Sao Tome and Principe on Friday evening was beneficial in more ways than one. It allowed Ismael Gharbi to open his account and secure a key place in Sami Trabelsi's setup, who hopes that tomorrow's match against Namibia will be a confirmation of the success of his offensive choices.
