MTNFootball

Tournament Review:

The Carthage Eagles started their campaign with a tough match against North African rivals Morocco, and despite being under pressure throughout the match they managed to hold on for a 2-1 victory.

After taking an early lead and conceding an early equalizer in the second match against Niger it took a last minute strike from substitute Issam Jemaa to secure another 2-1 win.

Sami Trabelsi’s side looked unimaginative during their third match against Gabon, one they ended up losing 1-0, but still qualified with the hosts as the second best team in Group C.

Tunisia faced Ghana in the quarterfinals and with the two teams tied at 1-1 during extra time, goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi made a crucial error when he failed to handle a simple cross at the far post, allowing Andre Ayew to tap the ball into an empty net.

Although the journey ended prematurely for the Tunisians, 21-year-old midfielder Youssef Msakni announced himself as a player to watch for the future as he scored two brilliant solo goals and mesmerized crowds with his skill and pace.

Pre-Tournament Profile:

Tunisia will make their 15th Africa Cup of Nations appearance at the finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea 2012. The North Africans have won the tournament just once – 2004 when, as hosts, they defeated Morocco 2-1 in the final.

They also finished as runners-up in 1965 and 1996. Added to these continental achievements, the Carthage Eagles have also appeared in four FIFA World Cups: 1978 and then three in a row from 1998 to 2006.

Their coach is former national team captain Sami Trabelsi. He took over from Frenchman Bertrand Marchand midway through the qualifying campaign for 2012 and guided Tunisia to an automatic qualifying berth as runners-up in the five-team Group K behind surprise package Botswana.

The Carthage Eagles only secured qualification in their final match, a 2-0 win at home to Togo which, combined with Malawi’s 2-2 draw in Chad, confirmed their place in the finals.

Striker Issam Jemaa was the overall leading goal scorer in the qualifying campaign with six strikes, so Tunisia certainly have the firepower to trouble the best sides at the 2012 finals. Trabelsi is hopeful that the full senior national side can emulate the CHAN squad of 2011 which came back from Sudan with the trophy after defeating Angola 3-0 in the final.

Quite whether this Tunisian team is good enough to emulate the class of 2004 is questionable – after all, they crashed out of AFCON 2010 in the group stages – but under Trabelsi’s energising leadership they may be able to go far into the tournament.

Team Info

Team History