Tunisia coach shocks everyone: this team will not succeed even if Guardiola coached it
Tunisia suffered a resounding slap at the hands of their Libyan neighbours, after falling on home soil by two goals to nil, a result that did not merely complicate the calculations of the Eagles of Carthage in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, but opened the door to sharp questions about the reality of Tunisian football, amid shocking admissions from coach Moïn Chaabani, who believes the crisis goes beyond the limits of technical resources and the names available on the substitutes' bench.
Libya claimed a historic victory over hosts Tunisia yesterday, Friday, at the Taïeb Mhiri Stadium in Sfax, in the third round of Group Eight of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
The defeat left Tunisia in deep trouble. Their tally froze at two points from three matches, two draws and a loss, dumping them bottom of the group. Libya, meanwhile, climbed to four points and moved temporarily top, pending the result of Uganda against Botswana.
Both sides meet again on 17 November, this time in Libya, in the fourth round. That clash carries exceptional weight and could prove the turning point in the qualification race, both for the hosts looking to confirm their edge and for the Tunisians who now need a swift response to rescue their campaign.
Al-Shaabani opens fire: the problem is in the mentality
Moïne Chaâbani, the Tunisia head coach, made no attempt to hide his frustration after the loss to Libya. He came out swinging in the post-match press conference, pinning much of the crisis gripping Tunisian football on the prevailing mentality.
Al-Shaabani said: "When you go out and see how things are run in other countries, you realise that mentality is the most important thing in football." He added in a decisive tone: "The current problem is a mentality problem. This team will not succeed even if you brought in Guardiola under the present circumstances and the current mentality."
Those words lay bare the scale of the frustration the defeat left behind, all the more painful because it came on home soil, in front of Tunisia's own fans, and against a Libyan neighbour who had never before beaten them as visitors.
His message clearly stretched beyond the scoreline. Changing coaches or luring big names will not fix a thing, he suggested, unless the mentality and the environment around the team shift first. That leaves Tunisian football staring at a challenge well beyond the technical and the tactical.
A historic fall ends 25 years of resilience
Tunisia's loss to Libya was far more than another stumble on the qualifying road. It carried negative figures unprecedented in the history of the Eagles of Carthage in continental qualifiers.
The 2-0 defeat became Tunisia's heaviest home loss by goal difference in AFCON qualifying. For the first time in their qualifying history, they also went two goals down in a fixture at their own stadium.
The result snapped a run of resilience stretching back more than 25 years, during which Tunisia had not lost by two goals in continental qualifying. Their last defeat by that margin dates to 24 March 2001, when Morocco beat them 2-0 in Rabat.
The grim figures did not end there. Tunisia recorded the worst start in their AFCON qualifying history, failing to win any of their first three matches for the first time ever. Two draws and a defeat left them with just two points from a possible nine.
Libya write history, and Tunisia face the spectre of absence
The Libyan win carried double significance. The visitors broke a historic jinx against Tunisia, landing a result they had never managed on Eagles of Carthage soil, and handing their players a huge morale boost ahead of the return.
Tunisia, by contrast, now stare at genuine danger, their proud continental record suddenly an extra burden as the qualification maths grow tangled.
Not since the 1994 edition on home soil, when they reached the final before losing to Nigeria, have Tunisia missed an AFCON finals. They have featured in 17 consecutive editions since, a record that speaks to their continuity on the continental stage.
The Eagles of Carthage have been crowned champions once, hosting the tournament in 2004, and boast a rich history of 22 appearances in the finals.
Libya's finest hour remains the 1982 final, when they lost to Ghana on penalties.
Caught between Libya's ambition to build on their historic win and keep chasing a qualification ticket, and the pressure on Tunisia to steady themselves fast, 17 November looks like far more than a qualifier. It is a real test of whether Al-Shaabani and his players can shake off the shock and prove the Eagles of Carthage's crisis is no bigger than their ability to bounce back.
