Luay Ahmed
France, who fielded a weakened line up which saw Mbappe, Griezmann and Rabiot on the bench – seemed to be unprepared for the intensity with which Tunisia started the match.
In the 6th minute, Tunisia thought they had taken the lead when a free kick from the left channel was redirected into the back of the net, only for the linesman to raise his flag for an offside decision.
Tunisia continued to press forward. Star man Wahbi Khazri made a dangerous run into the penalty area in the 12th minute, before he was bought down by Konate. The Tunisian appealed for a penalty, but the referee waved play on.
Frances only dangerous opportunity of the half came midway through the first half, when Kingsley Coman shot into the side netting after being played through on goal.
Tunisia appeared unfazed. They marched forward again in the 33rd minute – and a dangerous looping far post cross was intercepted by Camavinga before it found its way to the feet of Ghandri.
Khazri was again involved in Tunisia’s next attack. The Montpellier man made some space on the right wing before fizzing in a ball across the French six yard box which none of his teammates were there to meet.
In the second half, Tunisia reaped the rewards of their hard work. A strong team press lead to Fofana being dispossessed in midfield. The ball fell to Khazri, who ran at the French defense, cut left and then placed a low shot to the bottom right corner of the goal to give his team a shock lead over the world champions.
France responded with a host of substitutions. Mbappe, Rabiot, Dembele and Griezmann were all brought on by Didier Deschamps, and the changes shifted the momentum of the match as Tunisia began to sit deeper as France pushed forward.
The last ten minutes saw France create multiple close chances. Dembele took a long shot from the edge of the box which was strongly saved by the Tunisian goalkeeper. Mbappe then produced a brilliant dribble from the left wing, nutmegging a defender before shooting a curling effort which was strongly saved, and Griezmann scored a goal that was ruled out by the referee in the dying minutes of the match.
Ultimately, Tunisia secured a historic result for their national side – defeating the reigning world champions. However, the joy of the victory was in some regards drowned out by their elimination from the World Cup, due to Australia’s victory over Denmark.