Tunisia coach tough game against ‘good’ Mali

Tunisia national team coach Sami Trabelsi has discussed their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Round of 16 fixture against Mali in Morocco on Saturday.

While the Eagles qualified for the knockout stages after finishing second in Group A with three points, the Carthage Eagles confirmed their ticket after finishing second in Group C with four points.

The North Africans finished five points behind leaders Nigeria, after winning one match, drawing one, and losing one. However, they scored six goals, and conceded five. For Mali, they only scored two goals and conceded two.

Tunisia’s journey, saw them beat Uganda 3-1 in the opener, lost 3-2 against the Super Eagles, before drawing 1-1 against Tanzania. For the Eagles, they started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Zambia, 1-1 draw against hosts Morocco, before drawing 0-0 against Comoros.

“Mali is a great football team and has players of excellent quality. They are a good team technically and physically,” he told Africa Soccer.

“These matches are played on small details that must be exploited. It may be a closed match with not many opportunities, and we must take advantage of our opportunities, which is the key to winning the match.

“We saw the Malian national team draw in three matches and they performed at a high level against Morocco. We want to be more consistent, not rush things, and take advantage of the opportunities available in the match.”