The final minutes of their World Cup farewell were an incredible emotional roller coaster ride for the Tunisians.
They led 1-0 (0-0) against a B team from world champions France, the substitutes knelt on the substitutes’ bench around a laptop, the final whistle in Australia’s 1-0 win against Denmark sealed their World Cup elimination in the preliminary round. Then Antoine Griezmann scored the supposed equalizer (90.8), the game was called off.
Ellyes Skhiri from Cologne sank sadly to his knees, fans had tears in their eyes. The players were recalled, the goal disallowed for offside by Griezmann – and the Tunisians celebrated the ultimately worthless win.
Goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen fell to his knees with joy, after the actual final whistle the Tunisians went proudly into the curve and were celebrated by their loud fans. They had said goodbye prematurely, taking part for the sixth time in the preliminary round, but you can hardly fly home with an even higher head.
The defending champions, whose coach Didier Deschamps had changed his starting eleven to nine positions after the already certain round of 16 entry, are probably spared accusations of alleged distortion of competition thanks to the Australian victory. “We had the chance to give a few players a break, but we struggled today,” said the coach. “In the end we still deserved the equalizer. We’ll recover now and then we’ll continue.” Griezmann said of the goal that was not given: “I was offside. That’s the way it is.” It’s difficult to play when you’re further along. “But we gave everything.”
Goal of the day by Khazri
The strong captain Wahbi Khazri, who plays in Montpellier in France, provided the winning goal (58th) for the team around Ellyes Skhiri from Cologne. Despite their first defeat in a World Cup match since the quarter-finals in 2014, France won their group (0-1) against Germany. Opponents in the round of 16 on Sunday will be second in Group C, which will be determined on Wednesday evening between Poland, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
Deschamps had rebuilt almost the entire starting eleven. Only midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni and defender Raphaël Varane remained in the team, the latter taking over the captain’s armband from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Kingsley Coman from FC Bayern Munich and Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt were also flushed into the team, but neither of them could do any self-promotion. Bayern’s Dayot Upamecano rotated out, his club colleague Benjamin Pavard and Mönchengladbach’s Marcus Thuram hoped in vain for a chance. Ex-Herthan Mattéo Guendouzi made his first appearance in Qatar, father Mohamed had flown in on time and was sitting in the stands. But Tunisia’s coach Jalel Kadri also made six changes to his team. Skhiri stayed in, Freiburg native Mohamed Dräger didn’t.
The Tunisians had to deliver. They started powerfully and their loud fans were already cheering the supposed lead in the 8th minute. Nader Ghandri had sent the ball home after a free-kick, but before that he tip-toed offside, which is why the goal was conceded. But the momentum of the North Africans did not let up. The Tunisians showed significantly more bite than the world champion’s motley crew. According to the statistics, the French still had the first shot on goal, but Coman missed from an acute angle (25th).
The Tunisians were significantly closer through Khazri. When the 31-year-old shot, Steve Mandanda, who was in goal this time, had a lot of trouble (35′). The 0-0 draw in the parallel game between Australia and Denmark at the break gave the Tunisians every chance and at that point they were just a goal away from progressing.
The outsider pushed undeterred after the change – and was rewarded. And of course it was the exemplary captain Khazri who completed a strong solo. The jubilation was great, but just a few minutes later word broke that Australia had taken the lead against Denmark. The French now have star striker Kylian Mbappé, followed shortly afterwards by Griezmann. Kolo Muani missed the best chance for the world champion with a shot just wide of the goal (90th).
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