Jalel Kadri’s Tunisia recorded one of the biggest upsets in the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup as they defeated reigning world champions France 1-0 courtesy of a solitary Wabhi Khazri second half strike in their final Group D match played on Wednesday evening at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan.However, despite getting a result that kept alive their hopes of making history, the Tunisians were knocked out of the tournament as Australia shocked Denmark 1-0 in the other Group D clash to ensure that their win was only cosmetic.TUNISIA SHOCK THE REIGNING WORLD CHAMPIONS! 🇹🇳🦅 pic.twitter.com/OEjsF0YE4l— 433 (@433) November 30, 2022 Prior to the match, Tunisia risked exiting the competition without scoring a goal as their 27 shots failed to find the back of the net making them one of only two teams still without a goal after two matches – the other being Mexico.The Carthage Eagles however had a proud defensive record to boast of clash as they had only conceded one goal across 180 minutes of football.🇹🇳 @FTF_OFFICIELLE appreciation post.Tunisia exit the #FIFAWorldCup with a proud nation behind them! 👏 pic.twitter.com/unmQtynmuf— CAF (@CAF_Online) November 30, 2022 And in the do or die clash against the reigning world champions, the Tunisians knew they needed a mix of being at their best both in attacking and defending if they were to have any chance of going down the history books by advancing to the knockout stage of a World Cup tournament for the very first time.With France having made nine changes after securing progression, Tunisia asked questions of the new looking team as they completely dominated the first half with Didier Deschamps men looking truly out of place.##NAJAVA_MECA_6854007##Just eight minutes in, after making a blistering start, the Tunisians thought they had found an early breakthrough as Nader Ghandri directed the ball past Steve Mandanda in the France goal from a free kick only for VAR to rule out his attempt for offsideThe Jalel Kadri coached side maintained their tempo in the game but for all their domination, they just lacked the cutting edge to find their first goal of the tournament as they let France off the hook with the deadlock staying intact by the half time interval.Socceroos make it to the Round of 16, thumping favourites Denmark thus leaving the Carthage Eagles in despairIn the second half, the script remained the same for Tunisia as they pushed for a much needed goal. Their persistent efforts bore fruits in the 58th minute when team captain Khazri went on a mazy run before poking the ball past Mandanda to give the Africans the lead in what was his last contribution in the match.Shortly after going down, France unleashed their deadly arsenal as Kylian Mbappe was among a raft of changes made to try and change the result. All the dynamics changed as Tunisia sat back to defend their lead as the French men set salvo after salvo of attacks to try and break them down.To return or not? Ababu Namwamba discusses FKF boss Nick Mwendwa’s fateAfter being denied by a mix of spirited Tunisian defending and alert goalkeeping, Antoine Griezmann thought he had salvaged a point for his side with the last touch of the game as he scored in the eighth minute of added time.But even after the referee had sounded the full time whistle, the goal was ruled out after a late VAR check found the player had been offside in the buildup to the goal, restoring Tunisia’s lead which was not enough to book their spot in the Round of 16.
