Paranoia and Mali get the better of timid, tetchy Tunisia

There is possibly nary federation connected world whose shot is arsenic paranoid arsenic that of Tunisia, and pinch truthful small reason. They qualified for a 3rd successive World Cup pinch easiness and forced a tie successful a friends against Brazil successful November, yet their shot is infected pinch fear. To watch them play is to acquisition a dystopian world successful which imagination has been outlawed. In nan end, they went retired of nan Cup of Nations connected Saturday because their self-doubt proved an moreover stronger than Malian self-destructiveness.

The Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra took nan plaudits but this was a crippled Tunisia should ne'er person lost. For complete an hr and half they played against 10. They took nan lead successful nan 89th minute. Twice they led successful nan shootout. And someway they still lost, undermined by their ain unwillingness to return nan crippled on. If they had only played, they would surely person won but arsenic truthful often before, Tunisia did not conscionable play. They squabbled and spoiled, feigned wounded and moaned, and each truthful often forgot themselves, played a fistful of passes and looked nan decent broadside that they really should be.

They yet took nan lead successful nan 89th infinitesimal acknowledgment to Firas Chaouat’s deft back-header but, almost immediately, Yassine Meriah handled a free-kick successful nan container and Lassine Sinayoko converted nan resultant penalty. And Tunisia were ne'er going to people twice.

Tunisia are cursed by an consciousness of their ain history, of nan truth that they were nan first African broadside to triumph a crippled astatine a World Cup, and nan consciousness that they are not possibly rather what they were. They whitethorn person dropped conscionable 2 points from 10 games successful World Cup qualifying – they person been drawn pinch nan Netherlands, Japan and Ukraine, Sweden, Poland aliases Albania successful Mexico and nan US – but uncertainty is ever lurking, fresh to beset them. Last month’s group shape exit astatine nan Arab Cup dispelled immoderate optimism had begun to build complete nan erstwhile year, and their coach Sami Trabelsi came into this tourney nether pressure.

In nan group, it was nan conclusion to Nigeria that stood out, a mates of precocious goals reducing nan shortage but not nan belief they’d been outplayed successful a 3-2 defeat. Trabelsi started pinch a backmost 3 for nan only clip different than that Brazil game. That whitethorn beryllium a reasonable attack for trying to nullify a broadside he believes to beryllium technically superior to his own, but location seemed small logic for specified negativity against this Nigeria. The belief was of a head emotion nan unit fearing conscionable nan benignant of humbling conclusion his broadside ended up suffering.

The backmost 4 returned for nan tie against Tanzania that secured Tunisia’s advancement against Mali. It was paired pinch a five-man midfield of possibly nan kindest point to say, perhaps, would beryllium that it was picked for manufacture alternatively than creativity. Such attacking width arsenic location was offered by Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri and Augbsurg’s Ismael Gharbi, neither of whom could beryllium described arsenic earthy wingers. It was capable to person neutrals pining for Wahbi Khazri. Not until nan 70th infinitesimal did they yet move to a much orthodox 4-3-3.

Negativity saps astatine them, arsenic it has for astatine slightest 2 decades. Every interaction brings protest, each propulsion successful is contested, each opportunity to break up play is taken. Against a squad amended than them it would beryllium frustrating but understandable. Against a squad for illustration this Mali it was incomprehensible and, ultimately, self-defeating. At 1 constituent midway done nan first half, Tunisia had a propulsion astir 20 yards from nan goalline, but were truthful lacking successful ambition they sent only 1 subordinate into nan box. At times, it’s arsenic though they would alternatively triumph a scrap than a shot match. If they conscionable played, they would surely triumph much than they do, but fearfulness of conclusion curdles everything.

Here nan onus was thrust connected them to return nan crippled to Mali pinch nan 26th-minute dismissal of nan skittish Woyo Coulibaly for treading connected Hannibal’s Achilles, a infinitesimal of foolishness that would person been baffling if it wasn’t truthful successful keeping pinch nan history of Malian football. The oddity of this peculiar Mali is nan disjunction betwixt their tactical attack – suited to sitting heavy and playing connected nan break against bigger sides – and their psychological constitution – wholly lacking successful nan belief they tin really hit a large side.

Which possibly explains why each 4 of their games astatine this Cup of Nations were level astatine 90 minutes. But that only makes it much frustrating that, moreover against 10 men, Tunisia were unwilling aliases incapable to return nan inaugural against them. The worry that entraps this Tunisia is debilitating and difficult to explicate – but that’s nan measurement it’s ever been.