Tunisia coach Mondher El Kabir has stressed his side need to be physically and tactically prepared against a strong Syria side when both teams clash at the Al Bayt Stadium today.The Carthage Eagles, one of the favourites to win the FIFA Arab Cup title, thumped Mau-ritania 5-1 in their opening Group match and would qualify for the competition’s knockout stage with victory against Syria.
On the other hand, Syria came close to snatching a valuable point against the UAE and will be motivated to get a point against the North African heavyweights.Tunisia will be without Zamalek defender Hamza Mathlouthi who tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolated according to protocol, while Ali Maaloul and Yassin Chikhaoui are injured.
The Eagles though have enough firepower to see them through with the likes of Seifeddine Jaziri, wonderkid Hannibal Mejbri, Mohamed Ben Arbi and Youssef Msakni all in fine form.“The players have to be completely focused, play to dominate and be physical to win. It won’t be easy, especially due to the absences of Hamza, Ali Maaloul, and Yassin,” the coach said. El Kabir said that the Syrian team is solid and will seek to remedy their loss in the first game.
The Tunisian coach noted that Hamza’s participation in the tournament would be down to the results of the COVID-19 test, while the medical staff would determine the return of Ali and Yassin to the team. El Kabir also praised the tournament’s organisation and infrastructure on the ground. “Playing in such world-class stadiums would motivate the Tunisian national team players to give their best to be present again in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”
Notwithstanding the Eagles’ favourites tag, defender Yassine Meriah said Tunisia would not underestimate the Syrian team.“We are determined to achieve victory, despite missing some players. We respect the capabilities of the Syrian team, and we know they’ll do every-thing in their power to achieve a positive result.”Hard-battling Syria know they face an uphill task against their more illustrious oppo-nents. Romanian coach Tita Valerio, appointed just a few weeks before the tournament, said Syria’s whole focus is on getting the point today. “We have closed the page of the Emirates match. In that game, we played well in the second half, and we were close to getting the equaliser and at least a point,” Valerio said.“
Our focus is now on the match against Tunisian, which would be a strong and difficult match, especially after their victory over Mauritania.”Syria goalkeeper Ibrahim Alma also stressed the team’s desire to progress in the competition. “We seek to compensate for our loss against the United Arab Emirates. We could have come out with a better result, especially after the per-formance improved in the second half. We must do our best to achieve a positive result and maintain the chances of qualifying for the next stage of the tournament.”However, Alma noted that the Tunisian team has quality players, and Syria has to be at its optimum to get a good result.
