Tunisia surprises champion France but is eliminated from the World Cup

Tunisia surprises champion France but is eliminated from the World Cup

A spirited Tunisia beat a France team made up mostly of backup players on Wednesday. Nevertheless, their 1–0 victory over the defending champions was not enough for North Africa to progress to the knockout stages of the World Cup.

Denmark hoped to avoid defeat in the second Group D match against Australia by defeating France, who had already qualified, and progressed, Tunisia took the field to challenge a disgruntled French team, having defeated Denmark. The team included nine changes. But their win against the 2018 World Cup champions failed to take them through to the next stage as Australia beat Denmark 1-0 to finish second in Group D. cup. Show off.

French-born Wahbi Khajri led Tunisia to their third win in 18 matches in the final, dribbling into the box in the 58th minute and slipping past substitute goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, who at 37 was the first World Cup player to play in the tournament. The oldest is French. , Cup Match. The Tunisia victory also ended France's six-match winning streak at the World Cup. Khajri said Tunisia was ending its World Cup journey with a "sweet feeling": happy to beat France but heartbroken by the result of the second group stage match.

Coach Jalel Qadri echoed his player's comments.

"Unfortunately we were eliminated from the tournament, but we left the game with a lot of respect and pride," Qadri said. "We've been able to play with a lot more efficiency." Tunisia also threatened early on, with Nader Ghandari volleying the ball into the net from a free kick, but the move was ruled offside. Tunisia failed to advance to the knockout stages of the World Cup, despite defeating France. (Photo by Chris Brunskill / Fantasista / Getty Images)

Animosity from the stands was evident from the outset, with a section of Tunisian supporters in the City of Education whistling the French national anthem as it was played before kick-off. The same happened in an emotionally charged friendly in Paris in 2008 between France and its former colony. In a strategy designed to rest his stars for the round of 16, French coach Didier Deschamps gave players who usually see little of the pitch. But France's bench showed little cohesion and their back line was continually pushed back by a Tunisian team desperate to score.

The Tunisian captain's goal spurred the French into action, and Deschamps brought on stars such as Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann to boost an attack that had so far been dull. Mbappé and Griezmann encouraged the French, who were helped by Tunisia who sat back hoping to preserve their victory. On the Tunisian bench, the substitutes and coaching staff looked into the final minutes of their match as they set their eyes on the second decider of the group stage.

Hoping to avoid the embarrassment of defeat, France kept pressing, but Griezmann's stoppage-time goal was disallowed for offside.