The Press — After the Match Against Brazil's Top Team
Following the encounter with Brazil's top team, we cautioned against getting carried away. In his post-match statement, Sami Trabelsi summed it up by saying that "a good performance must be repeated several times to draw the best conclusions." To participate in this Arab Cup, we were forced to "make do with what we have." No fewer than 14 usual starting players are not present in the Arab Cup, including:
- Hannibal Mejbri
- Sebastian Tounekti
- Montassar Talbi
- Yan Valery
- Ali Abdi
- Elyès Skhiri
- Saifallah Latif
- Mortadha Ben Ouanes
- Elias Sâad
- Issa Laïdouni
- Dylan Bronn
- Nader Ghandri
- Alaa Ghram
- Elyès Achouri
Considering that the Tunisian team should not abstain, we had to participate. Of course, our opponents do not recognize these absences, and for them, it was the Tunisian team that was present. And that's the truth. Everyone knew that the Tunisian team was the team to beat. Our opponents simply played with the same mindset that prevailed in our ranks when we faced Brazil.
Lessons Learned
As there are always lessons to be learned from a match, especially one played in particular circumstances, it would be necessary to take stock and focus on the real weaknesses. Ultimately, the team was not sure of its movements. However, the majority of its players had never played together. They joined the group one by one, and the assurance that prevailed during official matches was lacking.
Without spoiling the joy of our Syrian friends, their goal was the result of poor defensive positioning, and it is curious that Dahmen did not intervene to direct his positioning. What we find regrettable is having called up players who no longer have a role to play in the national team... childish mistakes, poor passes punctuated this match. Whether they had an exceptional career or were called up out of respect for their career, it's the same. Everything has an end, and they should be asked to continue their career elsewhere, rather than becoming a burden that we don't know how to get rid of.
Trabelsi had promised to call up young players. He would have done better to solicit those who shone among the under-21s or under-17s.
