Lemerre Lashes Out At His Critics

Tunisia coach Roger Lemerre lashed out at his critics after revealing his provisional squad for the MTN Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.

The Tunisian press criticised Lemerre for his choices, especially after ignoring some high profile players.

The French manager dropped some veteran players from his squad like midfielder Selim Ben-Achour and striker Ziad Jaziri, who both play in Kuwait.

The duo helped their country to win the title on home soil back in 2004 and played in the World cup finals last year.

“Ben-Achour and Jaziri are not the same players they were three years ago, they were on

top in 2004 but it is not the same anymore,” explained Lemerre.

Lemerre also did not invite playmaker Abdelkrim Nafti to his team after the player recently joined Saudi club Al Nassr from CS Sfaxien.

“Nafti was a regular player during the qualifiers but he lost a lot of his concentration in the recent period which affected his performance.”