We Are No Longer Masters of Our Destiny
The national team must beat Qatar and wait for the result of the other Group A match between Palestine and Syria, which must not end in a draw.
The Press —
Everything was going well for our national team last Thursday until the 52nd minute of play when Firas Chaouat scored the second goal, confirming Tunisia's dominance over Palestine. We thought that the defeat conceded against Syria in the opening match was just a bad memory and that our players would finally enter the Arab tournament. Ten minutes later, the glimmer of hope turned into disillusionment after Hamed Hamdan reduced the score for Palestine. From that moment on, it was a descent into hell. The physical decline was accompanied by a total collapse of the defense. The result is a reflection of our team's performance during the last half hour of play: a draw that tastes like a defeat, which seriously compromises our chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
A Miracle from Elsewhere...
With the draw conceded last Thursday against Palestine, Tunisia is no longer master of its destiny. If Palestine and Syria, currently leading the standings with four points, draw, the result of our match against Qatar will have no value, neither for us nor for our opponent of the day. If Syria beats Palestine, it's not even worth thinking about, because qualification would be based on direct confrontations. Since we lost to Syria, it would be the exit door for us. We must therefore beat Qatar by the widest margin and wait for Palestine to beat Syria. Why by the widest margin? For the simple reason that, in this scenario, we must surpass Palestine in goal difference. To summarize, our only chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Arab Nations Cup is to win a large victory against Qatar tonight, provided that Palestine also wins against Syria, but with a goal difference in our favor. In short, we are at the mercy of a miracle that comes from elsewhere... from the Al Rayyan stadium. We can only blame ourselves. The choices made from the start, the players selected, most of whom arrived 48 hours or even the day before the first match of the tournament against Syria, meant that we did not prepare for this Arab Nations Cup. And when we take things lightly, we inevitably pay the price. The only thing our players still master in this Arab Cup is the face they can show us tonight against Qatar. It's up to Firas Chaouat and his teammates to put on a great show, in order to leave this Arab tournament through the front door in case of non-qualification for the quarterfinals. Note that Ismaël Gharbi will not play in tonight's match against Qatar, as he has been summoned by his club, FC Augsburg.
