Al-Shawali lashes out at the Tunisia national team: fiery words after the Botswana "disappointment"
Radical solutions, not painkillers: the AFCON ticket is now under threat!
Tunisian sports commentator Issam Chaouali erupted in anger after his country's national team drew 2-2 with Botswana, at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium in Radès, in the second round of the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Eagles of Carthage stay temporarily top of Group Eight with two points, ahead of tomorrow's match between Libya and Uganda on Tuesday.
This is the Tunisian side's second draw after Uganda (1-1), and the search goes on for a first win under new head coach Moïne Chaabani.
Chaouali spoke with regret during his commentary on the match via the beIN Sports network, in the final minutes: "These players cannot be compared to the likes of Mehdi Nafti, Nabil Taïder, Adel Chedli and Chaouki Ben Saada... enough of your tampering with the history of Tunisian football".
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He added: "I am not a specialist, but after all these failures, even if we won today, most of the team must be released and other names chosen, then we should be patient and make sacrifices. In the end, the answer is clear from the outset, things will not improve", likening the current situation to being like "light doses of oxygen, which will be followed by major breathing crises", stressing: "A radical solution is needed, not painkillers".
The commentator then turned on the motives of some players for joining the national team: "Now most of the players who join the national team are only looking to add the title of international player to their CV, in order to boost their professional prospects".
For Chaouali, the level of the national team throws the door open to any player, and he said: "Any Tunisian, faced with this spirit and this poor performance, feels that he too could join the Tunisian national team", especially as Botswana rank 150th in the world.
Once the referee blew the final whistle, Chaouali carried on his criticism: "The Radès match ends in a major disappointment. By God, if they gave us another hour we would not score. After two points, the Tunisian national team continues its free fall in African football, and its reaching the Africa Cup of Nations has become more threatened than ever".
He concluded: "Finally I say, a major disappointment, but this is the limit of the capabilities, yet reforms are needed", stressing that continuing on this path would be of no use.
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