It was a case of errors, bad luck, and blunders for Tunisia’s national team at the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, and their final group stage match against the Netherlands was no exception.
Not only did the Tunisians suffer their third consecutive loss, a 1-3 defeat to the Dutch, but they also managed a bizarre incident right at the restart of the second half.
As the impressive referee Katia Garcia (33) blew her whistle, two Tunisian players were missing from the field. The official had to restart the kick-off for the second half after Hannibal Mejbri (23) and then Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga professional Ellyes Skhiri (31) finally rushed onto the pitch from the tunnel.
All other 20 players had already gathered on the Arrowhead Stadium pitch in Kansas City, taken their positions, and the crowd’s obligatory countdown was underway.
ARD commentator Tom Bartels was stunned by the delay from the two midfielders. «You can’t be serious,» the reporter exclaimed, adding, «Everything truly goes wrong with this team.»
Tunisia Sacks Head Coach During the World Cup
One can hardly disagree with Bartels’ impression of Tunisia’s performance in the tournament: Tunisia lost all three group games and has already been sent home. Before the defeat to the Netherlands, they had already suffered heavy losses against Sweden (1-5) and Japan (0-4).
Things were also far from smooth off the pitch. After the opening match against Sweden, the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) decided to dismiss national coach Sabri Lamouchi (54). The former professional had only been in charge for about six months. Herve Renard (57) took over, but the experienced coach did not manage to bring about a sporting turnaround.
Translation to English:
«You Can’t Be Serious»: Two Tunisian Players Miss the Start of the Second Half at the World Cup
Mistakes, bad luck, and fumbles! For Tunisia’s national team, almost everything went wrong at the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Their final group stage match against the Netherlands was no exception.
Not only did the Tunisians suffer their third loss in as many games at the World Cup finals, a 1-3 defeat to the Dutch team, but they also created a bizarre situation right at the restart after the halftime break.
As the impressive referee Katia Garcia (33) prepared to blow her whistle, two Tunisian players were absent from the field. The official had to repeat the kick-off for the second half after Hannibal Mejbri (23) and then Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga professional Ellyes Skhiri (31) rushed onto the pitch from the tunnel.
All other 20 players had already gathered on the field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, taken their positions, and the obligatory crowd countdown was in progress.
ARD commentator Tom Bartels was speechless at the delay from the two midfielders. «You can’t be serious about this,» the reporter stated, concluding, «Truly, everything goes wrong with this team.»
Tunisia Sacks Head Coach During the World Cup
Looking at the impression Tunisia made in the finals, it’s hard to disagree with Bartels: Tunisia lost all three group games and has already been sent home. Before the defeat to the Netherlands, they had already been thrashed by Sweden (1-5) and Japan (0-4).
Things were also far from smooth off the field. After the opening match against Sweden, the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) decided to dismiss national coach Sabri Lamouchi (54). The former professional had to leave after only about half a year in office. Herve Renard (57) took over, but the experienced coach did not manage to bring about a sporting turnaround.