January 23, (THEWILL) – El Hadji Diouf, a former Liverpool striker, says Tunisia’s national squad is akin to Italy’s four-time world champions in terms of being surprising on the pitch.
The Eagles of Carthage won their only Africa Cup of Nations title eighteen years ago, on home soil, with a 2-1 triumph over north African rivals Morocco in the final.
Tunisia is the underdog heading into Sunday evening’s TotalEnergies 2021 AFCON round of 16 match against three-time African champions Nigeria, following a poor showing in the group round in which they lost twice.
Diouf, who captained Tunisia in the 2002 World Cup, said the Tunisians can beat Nigeria if they are at their best, but added that they are also capable of putting up the worst performance.
“I have always said that I consider the Tunisian team to be Italy of the African continent,” Diouf said ahead of the tie. “They can come to the stadium and play a good match. They can get to the stadium and sleep on the field.”
Diouf, a two-time African Footballer of the Year, played in the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations for Senegal, which was defeated 2-1 by Nigeria.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
