Preparations for the CAN Continue at a Steady and Slightly Accelerated Pace
The national team has been training since the beginning of their gathering, with Sunday marking their fourth training session. Ali Maâloul brings his expertise to the group The Press — The CAN in Morocco is on the horizon, and the time allocated for preparation is limited due to various reasons. Firstly, there was the inappropriate scheduling of the Arab Nations Cup, which took place just before the continental tournament. Additionally, FIFA's exemption allowed clubs to keep their African internationals until yesterday, whereas they were initially supposed to release them on the 8th of this month. However, the early elimination from the Arab Cup in the first round led Sami Trabelsi to revise his plans. Out of the 23 players selected for the Qatari tournament, the national coach retained 12 for the CAN, including:
- Aymen Dahmen
- Béchir Ben Saïd
- Noureddine Farhati
- Yassine Meriah
- Mohamed Ben Ali
- Ali Maâloul
- Houssam Tka
- Ferjani Sassi
- Ismaël Gharbi
- Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane
- Firas Chaouat
- Seifeddine Jaziri These 12 players returned from Doha and benefited from 3 days of rest before traveling to Tabarka by plane on Friday, accompanied by Sabri Ben Hassan, to begin the training camp. To gain time, Sami Trabelsi accelerated the pace, with the national team already having completed their fourth training session by Sunday.
Mejbri, Ben Ouannes, and Arous Join the Team
As is customary, the group is gradually taking shape over the days. After Nader Ghandri and Hazem Mastouri, it was Hannibal Mejbri, Adam Arous, and Mortadha Ben Ouannes' turn to train with the team on Sunday. On the same day, Ellyès Skhiri arrived at the team's retreat in Tabarka but did not train with his teammates. Meanwhile, Montassar Talbi, Dylan Bronn, Elias Achouri, and Ismaël Gharbi arrived in Tabarka yesterday.
Tactical Aspect Takes Priority
According to their flight schedules from their country of residence, the latest arrivals are being driven from Tunis Airport to the team's retreat in Tabarka. Players who arrived yesterday are receiving special care, if needed, to be fully prepared to participate in collective training today, even with a relatively light pace. Moreover, Ellyès Skhiri trained normally with his teammates yesterday. From today, the tactical aspect takes priority over the physical aspect, as the group is now complete. There is only one day left to refine the tactical schemes to be tested during the friendly match against Botswana on Thursday. As a reminder, this friendly match will be played behind closed doors, and no media will be allowed to cover it.
