Al Rayyan: Wahbi Khazri struck the solitary goal of the match in the 58th minute to help Tunisia clinch a 1-0 win over France in their Group D FIFA World Cup match at the Education City Stadium in Qatar on Wednesday.
However, despite their win, Tunisia are out of the tournament. They finish at three in the points table with four points, with a win, loss and a draw under their kitty. Meanwhile, France has topped the table with six points with two wins and a loss. In the fifth minute, defender Raphael Varane was able to keep a check on Ali Maaloul’s cross and kept the ball away from goal. Another dodgy punch from Steve Mandanda followed.
Tunisia almost scored as forward Wahbi Khazri almost nailed a goal, but defender Nader Ghandri turned home his wicked delivery in the eighth minute of the match.
France did not enjoy a very good start as their attacking intentions were made clear by shots from Khazri and Ali Maaloul. In the 16th minute, France committed a foul.
From 20 minutes and later, France started to get their act together. In the 25th minute, France’s Youssef Fofana tried to work the ball to Kingsley Coman, but he fired the ball wide of his target.
Both sides continued to take shots at the target, with Tunisia being the more aggressive side. But neither could convert their chances into actual goals.
By the time the first half ended, France looked off-colour as they could attempt only two shots on target while Tunisia attempted 29. Though nobody could score, Tunisia was clearly the much better side.
Tunisia continued with their aggressive gameplay in the second half as well. Aissa Laidouni fired a fierce hit over the bar, going past Fofana. But he could not score.
Tunisia was rewarded for their persistence as Khazri seized the ball and made a 40-yard run before rolling it into the bottom right corner. The defending champions France were down 1-0 after this 58th-minute strike.
Issam Jebali replaced Khazri in the 60th minute. France made some substitutes of their own in the 63rd minute.
Raphael Varane, Kingsley Coman and Jordan Veretout were off for France, with William Saliba, Kylian Mbappe and Adrien Rabiot replacing them.
Mbappe looked to score in the 72nd minute but his shot was too wide, making him raise his hands in apology.
At the end of ninety minutes, the French side had eight more extra time minutes to score an equaliser. Three minutes into the full time, Mbappe fired a free-kick at the wall but bounced in front of Aymen Dahmen, who made the save.
Antoine Griezmann netted the equaliser in the dying seconds of the match, but he was denied the goal after a video review.
Tunisia clinched a memorable 1-0 win. But were out of the World Cup as France finished the group toppers and Australia finished as runners-up.
