Beating France? Nothing is impossible, Tunisia coach says
Nothing is impossible, according to Tunisia coach Jalel Kadri, as he reflected on Tuesday’s Group D matchup with France, which could determine whether or not his team advances to the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in six tries.
Is it impossible for Tunisia to upset the defending champions in a World Cup that has been littered with surprises? Definitely not.
Mission Improbable. Yes.
Parked at the bottom of the group and yet to score a goal the one certain thing is that the Carthage Eagles face a monumental challenge at Education City Stadium on Wednesday when they take on in-form Les Bleus.
“The message I convey to our players is nothing is impossible, we are still alive, we are still motivated and we will ready for this last battle,” Kadri told reporters. “We still have high hopes.
“I believe in the players and hopefully we will be lucky and move onto the next phase.”
Tunisia might hope that France having secured their place in the last 16 might ease up but coach Didier Deschamps promised his men will not take the Tunisia threat lightly.
“The team who will play tomorrow will do everything to get the best possible result, even if I have this possibility to shuffle things around,” Deschamps told a news conference on Tuesday.
Tunisia grabbed what had seemed an unlikely point in their opener battling Denmark to a scoreless draw which was followed by a shutout 1-0 loss to Australia.
France has had no trouble scoring goals as they defeated the Socceroos 4-1 and secured their spot in the last phase with a 2-1 victory over Denmark.
Kadri hinted that he might step down as coach if his team didn’t advance, thus a victory might persuade him to stay. Let’s wait for the outcome of the game, and then we’ll decide, Kadri remarked. We are accountable individuals, and perhaps I will be able to respond to your query after the game.