Meriah strikes as Tunisia beat Niger

Tunisia moved a step closer towards qualification after a hard fought lone goal victory over Niger on Sunday in Rades, near Tunis.

The victory, the third on the trot for the Carthage Eagles was made possible thanks to Yassine Meriah, who scored the only goal on 17 minutes. The win ensures Tunisia maintain top spot in Group J on nine points, three more than Egypt, who beat Eswatini 4-1 earlier on Friday in Cairo.

Bassem Srarfi kicked things off for the Eagles with a shot from outside the box that was no trouble for goalkeeper Daouda Kassali in the opening minutes.

Minutes later, Meriah broke the deadlock. The Greece-based defender finished a superb team effort that started with a corner from Naim Sliti, a header from Fakhreddine Ben Youssef which met Meriah who slotted home.

Five minutes before recess, the Nigeriens came close to rallying back. Soumana Boubacar found his way into the Tunisian backline, but was denied by goalkeeper Farouk Ben Mustapha in a one-on-one situation.

Sliti missed the opportunity to double the lead of the Carthage Eagles, but his shot on 64 minutes went wide.

The host suffered a numerical disadvantage when Ghilane Chaalali was sent off for a second yellow card, but they managed to hold onto victory.

Reactions

Maher Kanzari (Assistant Coach, Tunisia)

This match was not like we had planned. On paper, we are much better than our opponent, but it’s different in reality. The task becomes more difficult if you don’t start off strong; you start to get doubtful and the opponents become more confident. We scored early and that’s a good thing. We couldn’t score another goal because we weren’t mentally prepared. This was a difficult game to handle but the important thing is that we won, which is a good thing for us to be in our best shape for the return in Niger.

**Hamdi Naguez (Defender, Tunisia) **

We got the match points, even though it was not an easy game. Our opponents gave a good performance. Hopefully, this victory will spur us to victory in the return leg to maintain the lead of the group.

Cheikh Omar (Assistant Coach, Niger)

Both teams were good, Tunisia was better but we were able to keep up and contain their threat. We conceded a goal after mistake from our end that threw us off balance and we weren’t able to recover. We were up against an excellent team that has great players and knows how to take control of the match. Tunisia deserves to be at the top of the group. We still have three games left, and we will do our best. We are capable of winning and we will do our best to recover.

**Oumarou Aliou Youssouf (Midfielder, Niger) **

We came here for a draw, at least, but we lost. We still have a chance to qualify. We have to win the game next Tuesday. We gave our best but it was not enough.