Tunisia’s head coach Jalal Kadri issued an apology to the fans following the team’s 1-0 defeat against Namibia on Tuesday evening in the opening round of Group Five in the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament.
In a televised statement after the match, Kadri expressed his contrition, “We apologize to the fans; it’s a painful loss. Namibia scored their goal at a very tough moment, and we failed to respond.”
The Tunisian coach stressed his responsibility for the result, acknowledging, “We put ourselves in this position, but we have the experience needed to overcome this difficult situation.”
He added, “We must regain our level, and I trust the team to show a strong response in the next two matches against Mali and South Africa.”
Kadri also mentioned the challenging nature of initial matches in any tournament, stating, “We understand the importance of the first game in all competitions, but we are not the first team to lose our opener. Argentina lost their first match in the World Cup against Saudi Arabia and still ended up as champions.”
Explaining the loss to Namibia, Kadri said, “We were aware of the opponent’s strengths, and I warned the players about them, but unfortunately, we did not pay attention and performed very poorly in the first half, although we improved somewhat after making a number of substitutions.”
Kadri continued, discussing the challenges they faced, “The injury of Taha Yassine Khenissi in the opening fifteen minutes disrupted our plans and forced us to change our tactics. We also lament the lack of effectiveness in capitalizing on 4 clear opportunities against Namibia.”
Tunisia’s next match is against Mali on Saturday in the second round, concluding their group-stage journey with a game against South Africa on Wednesday, January 24th.
Namibia surprises Tunisia
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