Defiant Tunisians eager to prove a point (05.06.2002)
KOBE
Tunisia coach Ammar Souayah said Tuesday his team would do their utmost to prove they have been unfairly labelled as the weakest team in Group H.
"Tunisia is a small nation with only 10 million inhabitants but we will do our best and give maximum effort for our country," he said ahead of Wednesday`s clash against Russia here at the Kobe Wing stadium.
Quoted as 500/1 outsiders to win the 32-team tournament, Tunisia shot to fame in 1978 when they became the first African country to win a World Cup finals match with a 3-1 victory over Mexico.
But the north Africans, whose preparations for the tournament were hampered by the loss of star midfielder Oussama Sallami through injury, are still looking for victory number two.
Midfielder Zoubeir Baya, who plays his football in Turkey for Besiktas, refused to be drawn on whether Tunisia would chalk up their second World Cup win on Wednesday, but said a draw against
the Russians would be a positive result.
"The first match is often the most difficult but we must be confident," he said.
"To take a point from our first match would be good for us."
Souayah said his players had been working on a game plan to nullify the attacking threat posed by the Russians whose coach Oleg Romantsev confirmed earlier in the day he would quit if his side failed to qualify for the second round.
"I don`t think they will play long balls," Souayah added. "We`re expecting them to play a short passing game and to play down the wings as much as possible."
Although they qualified with ease for their third World Cup finals the Tunisians will need something short of a minor miracle to emerge from their group, despite each player being offered 60,000 dinars (46,000 euros/42,000 dollars) should they qualify for the second round.
After tackling the Russians, Tunisia take on Belgim before meeting co-hosts Japan
