Tunisia fights for close win over Burundi in World Cup qualifier

2008-06-24

Tunisia's national football team beat visitors Burundi on Saturday, in a qualifying match that was the team's last with Roger Lemerre at the helm. Incoming coach Humberto Coelho will take over before the next match in September against Burkina Faso.

By Mona Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 24/06/08

[Mona Yahia] Tunisia defeated guests Burundi 2-1 on Saturday, bringing the Carthage Eagles one step closer to qualifying for the African and World Cups.

The Tunisian national football team captured three precious points on Saturday (June 21st) with a 2-1 win at home against Burundi in the 2010 World Cup/African Cup of Nations qualifiers. It was the last match for the Carthage Eagles under Coach Roger Lemerre.

They managed to narrowly win the match, but failed utterly in co-ordinating any attacks in the opening minutes. The rough start lasted until the 19th minute, when midfielder Chaouki Ben Saada opened scoring on a penalty kick.

Burundi coach Adel Amrouche had to substitute goalkeeper Vladimir Niyonkuru when Janvier Ndikumana was sent off, completing the match with 10 players.

The Burundian team made up for the disadvantage by going back for defence, using an off-side plan, and tending to be a bit violent. Nevertheless, Issam Jemâa tapped in a second goal for Tunisia in the 42nd minute on a counter attack, after which the Tunisian squad relaxed a bit.

Amine Chermiti passed up the chance at a third when he found himself face-to-face with the goalkeeper after they managed to defeat the off-side plan, but the forward's shot went wide of the post.

After that the Burundian team took advantage of the Tunisian defenders' lack of concentration. Midfielder Henri Mbazumutima capitalised on an error by defender Chadi Hammami to take a crack at the Tunisian goal in the 45th minute, reducing the deficit to one.

Though the Tunisians laboured in the second half to increase their lead, they couldn't manage to perform at the required level. In addition, the Burundian team showed remarkable steadfastness that made it very different for the Tunisian forwards to penetrate their defensive lines.

After the match, Lemerre said his team had only managed to collect nine points in the first four rounds, when their original goal was 12 points. As a result, he said the team must win three more points in order to officially secure a spot in the second round.

He added that the match wasn't easy against a team who kept their wits despite a numerical disadvantage, thanks to their tactical discipline and good organisation on the pitch. He noted that the goal scored by the Burundian team at the end of the first half gave their players greater self-confidence and helped them enter the second half in high spirits.

Tunisian defender Saif Ghezal agreed that the match was exceptionally difficult, particularly in terms of the mental aspect.

Burundi coach Adel Amrouche said his team could have achieved a better result if it hadn't been for fatigue on the one hand, due to the long trip, and the numerical disadvantage after his goalkeeper was sent off. He said that his team is still young, without the necessary experience in these important matches.

This is the third win in a row for Tunisia after four rounds in Group 9 of the 2010 World Cup/African Cup of Nations qualifiers. The Eagles will play their successive matches under incoming Portuguese coach Humberto Coelho.

With this win, the Tunisian team have 9 points, in second place behind Burkina Faso with 12 points. The defeat held Burundi to just 3 points, while Seychelles remain in last place with zero points.