Sami Trabelsi believes Tunisia proved their quality despite loss to Nigeria
Tunisia head coach Sami Trabelsi found encouragement in his team’s display following a 3–2 defeat to Nigeria on Saturday night at the Fes Stadium.
After opening their campaign with a 3–1 win over Uganda, the Carthage Eagles were beaten by goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
Goals from Montassar Omar Talbi and Ali El Abdi were not enough to prevent defeat against Eric Chelle’s Super Eagles. The result marked only Tunisia’s second loss in their last 12 AFCON matches. While Trabelsi admitted the disappointment of the outcome, he maintained that the overall performance showed Tunisia can compete at the highest level.
“Of course, there is a sense of bitterness after the match and the defeat. We felt we could have come back, especially during the final 30 minutes,” the Tunisian legend told the CAF website.
“The players performed at a very high level in that period; we created many chances, scored two goals and could have scored more.
“The defeat hurts, but there is also a positive aspect: it shows that we can compete with any opponent when we impose our style of play and our ball possession.
“We respected them, yes, while trying to remain balanced. We know that Nigeria have very fast and powerful players, so we tried to reduce the spaces.”
Trabelsi added that his team approached the game with balance due to Nigeria’s strengths, but pointed out that missed opportunities and lost duels ultimately made the difference.
“In the first half, we had a few chances that we should have taken,” he continued.
“The goals we conceded came from crosses; it was not a matter of too much respect, but rather that we lost too many defensive and attacking duels.
“Once we started winning our attacking duels, we were much better and put the opponent under pressure.
“I repeat, we did not start the match well because we lost too many duels. However, over the final 35 minutes, we were dominant and the final result could have been very different.
“It is a matter of judgement. When we needed even more attacking penetration, we introduced Ismail Gharbi, but the performance of those already on the pitch was not poor. The next match will be decisive.”
After the loss, the 2004 African champions sit second in Group C with three points from two matches.
Tunisia will face Tanzania next on Tuesday at the Rabat Olympic Stadium, knowing that a victory is vital to secure qualification for the Round of 16.
