The Tunisian youth team will meet their English counterpart, champion of the last edition of the European Nations, at the Diego Maradona stadium in the capital, Buenos Aires, at the opening of the fifth group competition, which also includes the teams of Iraq and Uruguay .
After the Carthage Eagles team’s disappointing participation in the Qatar 2022 World Cup by dropping out of the race in the first round, the aspirations of Tunisian football fans seem high for the youth team to achieve the feat of World Cup and compensates for the successive failures suffered by Tunisian teams and clubs in continental and international competitions.
The draw for the final phase of the Youth World Cup placed Tunisia in Group E, alongside Iraq, to be the representatives of Arab football, along with England and Uruguay.
The Tunisian national team will face their English counterpart in the first round on Monday evening, while they will meet their Iraqi counterpart on Thursday May 25, and the first round will conclude with a meeting with the Uruguayan national team on Sunday 28 this month. .
Why the enforced absence?
The Tunisian national team, which finished fourth in the African Under-20 Nations Championship (Egypt 2023), aims to achieve a first feat in the World Cup in this competition, for its third participation in its history after having hosted the first edition in 1977. , and participated in the 1985 Russian edition and left since the tour. The first two times.
The Tunisian national team uses a number of its professional players in European clubs, where coach Montaser Al-Wahishi has invited 25 players, including 8 active in French, Italian, German and English clubs, as well as the striker Egyptian Al-Ahly Mohamed Al. -Dhawi, and 16 players from Tunisian Premier League clubs.
Al-Wahishi took over as the new national under-20 team coach last April, taking over from Adel Al-Sulaimi, who was fired due to poor results.
Al-Wahishi said in a press conference he held before traveling to Buenos Aires:
• “To honor Tunisian football is the first objective of the national team during its participation in the World Cup in Argentina.”
• “Tunisia’s mission in Group E will not be easy at all, especially since we will face strong teams like England, Iraq and Uruguay, but we will play without calculations and we will work for leave the best impressions in the World Cup.”
• “The preparations we made for this competition were not good, due to the short time available to prepare for this event, in addition to the limited number of players that we are going to rely on. We did not have a lot of options, but that doesn’t mean we’ll approach the World Cup with a defeatist mentality.”
• “The group he will rely on includes a mix of local players and professionals in Europe.”
• “The national team roster is witnessing the absence of other players whose commitments to their clubs prevented them from attending preparation camp, such as Manchester United star Hannibal Al-Majbri, who is currently active at Birmingham on loan, noting that he has expressed his desire to participate in the World Cup, but the transition period he is going through with his Manchester United team, his absence was inevitable.
• “Competition to qualify for the second round of Group E remains a legitimate but difficult dream, especially given the presence of European champions England, Iraq and Asian Nations runners-up, and Uruguay, who played 9 games in the South American qualifiers, in which they lost only one game against Brazil.” .
• “We will spare no effort to surprise and qualify. We will play each match as if it were a decisive and determining encounter.”
The surprise is coming
And former Tunisian national team star Tariq Abdali believes the European professional players Al-Wahishi has asked for help can honor Tunisian and Arab football at the World Cup, even if the lottery did not do justice to the “Eagles of Carthage”. by entering a difficult group which they will face in the opening of the England team.
In an interview with ‘Sky News Arabia’, Al-Abdali said: “Playing without accounts is the best way for the national team, against England. At the start of the group competitions it will be difficult, but the qualification for the second round will not be decided until the third round.”
He continued: “Each team has its strengths and weaknesses, and the technical staff and the players must concentrate, especially on the confrontations between Iraq and Uruguay, to create an upset.”
Al-Abdali added: “The lack of preparation for this competition is the biggest obstacle for the Tunisian youth team, but it would be surprising if the national team played according to its potential and faced all its competitors in the first round with the club and top”. trust.”
The first and second places of each group qualify for the second round of the World Cup, as well as the 4 best teams of the third places.
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