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Soccer Canada Magazine Preview
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Polish coach Henry Kasperczak helped to send Tunisia to defeat the last time they reached the World Cup in 1978. Now he wants nothing but success for them.
Twenty years ago he was in the Polish side that beat Tunisia 1-0 in a first round match in Rosario. Now he would like his Tunisian team to enjoy the same winning feeling he had as a player.
Kasperczak had been in the Poland team that finished third in the 1974 World Cup in West Germany and has helped to bring to Tunisia some of the determination and discipline all successful sides need. Now after being coached by him for three years, Tunisia's 20-year-wait for their second World Cup finals appearance is almost over.
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World Cup Record: One final - 1978. Best Performance: First Round. Three stars to watch: Skander Souayah, Adel Sellimi, Medhi Ben Slimane. Inexperience at this level will be Tunisia's major problem. Even though they did well in the 1996 African Nations Cup by making the final, we know from their 3-0 exhibition home loss to Australia that they can flop badly. Experts think they will do so here. Tip: Elimination at the group stage. Best international result: 5-0 v.s. Rwanda (1983) Worst international result: 0-4 v.s Egypt (1989) Most capped player all-time: not available. Area: 155 000 Sq. Km Population: 8 530 000 Capital: Tunis Founded: 1956 Affiliation to Fifa: 1960 Number of clubs: 1 100 Number of registered players:29 400 Number of registered referees: 650 Major stadiums: Stade Olympique, El Menzah (50 000). Chadli Zouiten, Tunisi(50 000) National colors: Red and white |
The 20 years since their previous World Cup appearance have produced their usual ups-and-downs as it does for every country in the world of sport -- but Tunisia have bounced back more dramatically than most after flopping at home when they hosted the African Nations Cup in 1994.
In 1996 they had improved to such a degree they made the final of the African Nations Cup, only fading in the second half of the final against an inspired South Africa to finish as runners-up after a tight 2-0 defeat.
Then last June, after a determined World Cup campaign in which they remained unbeaten, they drew 0-0 with arch-rivals Egypt in Cairo to clinch their place in France. Their success in the last four years can be traced back to their failure in 1994.
After being eliminated in the first phase of the African Nations Cup that year, the Tunisian league was dissolved and re-organised and Henri Kasperczak, the Franco-Polish coach who was a member of the Polish side that finished third in the 1974 World Cup finals, took over as coach of the national squad.
His task was to re-fashion the squad in time for the African Nations Cup in 1996 and to reach the final phase of the World Cup. He has been successful on both counts.
The point Tunisia gained in Cairo on June 8, was enough to qualify for France and the final victory, a 4-0 home win over Namibia, emphasised their right to be in France'98.
Goals from Zoubeir Beya (2), Skander Souayah and Jameleddine Limam wrapped up their unbeaten qualifying campaign which produced five wins and a draw in their six matches and a goal tally of 10-1.
Tunisia were not disgraced when they reached the 1978 World Cup, becoming the first African side to win a match in the finals when they beat Mexico 3-1. They Poland, who eventually finished third. A similar performance in the finals this year would be acceptable. A place in the second round even better.
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan