Pre-tournament favourites Tunisia held off a late charge to beat Oman 2-1 at the Education City Stadium yesterday to qualify for the semi-final of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021.
Goals from tournament top scorer Seifeddine Jaziri and Yousef Msakni ensured the inaugural champions of the Arab Cup remain in the competition despite Oman’s Arshad Al Alawi’s wonder strike.
Both teams had never met in a competitive setting before yesterday’s match, but Tunisia, who qualified top of Group B, were touted as favourites over the Group A runners-up.
The North Africans made a fast start to the game with crisp movement, but Oman held their own as both teams tried to find an opening. Their early onslaught soon bore fruit, and Tunisia scored the opener just 16 minutes into the match.
French-born Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri, a revelation for Tunisia in the tournament, was at the heart of the attack as he released the overlapping Mohamed Ben Hmida down the left, whose cross was headed home by Jaziri for his fourth goal of the tournament to put Tunisia ahead.
The goal seemed to boost the Tunisian attack, and soon Mohammed Drager flashed a shot towards goal, though Oman’s Ibrahim Al Mukhaini managed to push over the bar.
The Carthage Eagles enjoyed the lion’s share of possession after the opener, but the Omani defence remained firm.
However, Oman enjoyed a brief spell of possession but failed to capitalize as Tunisia came close to adding to their tally.
Hannibal, at the heart of everything good for Tunisia, exchanged passes with Drager, who drilled a lovely ball into the box, but Naim Sliti’s volley was too heavy as it flew just over the bar.
Soon after, Jaziri blew a chance to make it two for Tunisia after being played through but with an opportunity to shoot, he squared for Msakni, who failed to connect properly as Tunisia held a 1-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the North Africans started on the attack, but Oman almost equalized from a counter of their own; however, Salah Al Yahyaei shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Tunisia created chances to extend their lead and put the game to bed, but some sturdy defence by Oman and some poor decision making in the final third by Jaziri and Msakni saw the Eagles’ lead remain fragile.
They soon paid for their wastefulness in the 65th minute as Arshad Al Alawi unleashed a stunning strike from over 25 yards past the outstretched Mouez Hassen to level for Oman.
The celebrations were short-lived as Tunisia showed their quality and were soon back ahead just minutes later from a setpiece.
Sliti’s cross found Msakni unmarked, and the Al Arabi man rose highest to power home a header.
Oman searched for an equaliser in the latter stages, but Tunisia held on to book a much-deserved spot in the semi-finals, where they’ll face the winner of the quarter-final match between Egypt and Jordan.
“We learned a lesson from our defeat to the Syrian team, and the reaction from the players have been strong,” Tunisia coach Mondher El Kabir said after the match.
“We created about eight to nine opportunities, and I would like to thank my players for their hard work to secure the victory. The fans also supported greatly and encouraged the players to victory.”
