Twelve years ago, Sabri Lamouchi experienced one of the most painful moments of his coaching career. At the , he guided Côte d’Ivoire to an exciting comeback victory over Japan before narrow defeats to Colombia and Greece ended the Elephants’ hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
Against Greece, a draw would have been enough to qualify, but a late penalty shattered the dream in what Lamouchi still describes as an extremely cruel exit.
Today, the French-Tunisian coach returns to football’s biggest stage with Tunisia, a national team carrying their own history of near misses. Since their first appearance almost half a century ago, the have never progressed beyond the group stage despite producing memorable moments and historic victories.
Yet this time feels different. Tunisia arrive at the after an outstanding qualifying campaign in which they did not concede a single goal – a reflection of the collective discipline and defensive solidity established under former coach Sami Trabelsi before Lamouchi .
Now, facing a difficult group featuring Japan, the Netherlands and Sweden, Lamouchi wants Tunisia to compete with courage rather than fear. While he knows challenging for the title in North America will be extremely difficult, he also believes the World Cup often rewards teams that fight until the very end.
Speaking to FIFA, he reflected on his previous World Cup experience, Tunisia’s ambitions and what the team must do to finally reach the knockout stage for the first time.
Sabri Lamouchi: It’s very simple. For every footballer, taking part, playing and winning the World Cup is something that every kid has hoped for and dreamt of, at one point. Obviously, that includes me. It is probably the most watched sporting event in the world.
Without doubt, I'd say the feeling after the first match against Japan and that victory. But, unfortunately, that was the only one, because afterwards, we lost to [Greece] in the last minute. It was very cruel to go out in that manner.
The two experiences are completely different. Two different nations, two different schedules, but in the same competition. It has the best teams in the world, and you have to pay attention to every single detail: obviously, individual quality and national team quality. You have to be ready at the right moment. We have three very important matches in a very difficult group. But we should be aware of how lucky we are to take part in this incredible global event.
Well, I have to give credit where it is due. It was my predecessor, Sami Trabelsi, and the players who produced that incredible performance. I think they were the only team in the world, or I think, perhaps Côte d'Ivoire as well, who didn't concede any goals. That is something pretty rare.
It shows you're a great side that, above all, defends well as a team, even if the World Cup will be a higher level altogether. The teams we're going to face will make much more difficult demands of us, at a much higher level of intensity, and we'll have to stand up and be counted.
We have to bring in some new blood, but not too much. We can't lose sight of where we are. We just have to try to be as competitive as possible. That means having the right preparation plan, so that come 14 June, we're ready to play Sweden.
If we're honest with ourselves, without any false modesty, we have no chance of winning this competition. So we have to tackle it full of determination and conviction, but with strength to ensure that when we do leave, hopefully as late as possible, we have no regrets, and we're proud of the performances that we put in. If we have that pride in what we've achieved, it will be because of the hard work we put in earlier. We will have followed the plan, and the players will have taken everything on board.
I don't think Tunisia won a single game at the 2006 World Cup. In 2018, we won one match. And in 2022, we won one match. We drew with Denmark and we beat France, but those four points were not enough to qualify. This time, under the new format, four points might be enough to qualify. We have to fight for those points again, against Sweden in the first match, against the best team in Asia, Japan, and of course, the great side of the Netherlands, who need no introduction.
That’s an objective for everyone, but between having an objective and doing everything in order to achieve it, there are stages, there are opponents. I say to my players that we certainly can’t win every match. However, we have to give it our all. This means being selfless for the team from the moment we start. Then we’ll give ourselves a little more of a chance. And I’m convinced that with maybe one or two good results, there’ll be a realisation, there’ll be a boost of confidence, because we have young players who are not far from taking it to the next level and whom we have to help to reach that next level.
What legacy? Wow! I won’t talk about legacy because when I look at the average age of this team, I tell myself that a wonderful future awaits them. I prefer to talk about image, emotions and feelings. I want these players – for some it will be their first World Cup and for others perhaps their last – to feel they left nothing inside themselves, that they gave everything, enjoyed the experience and gave the Tunisian people great emotions.
Tunisia is a nation of 12, 13, 14 million people, but Tunisians all over the world will be watching. Hundreds of millions, maybe more, who will watch the matches against Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands. Those will be some great matches that we’ll get to play in. More than legacy, I want us to be proud of what we’ve accomplished and I want the Tunisians to be proud of the image that we portray.
Sources: FIFA Official
