Tunisia knew they were a long shot at advancing to the knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, especially when they had to beat the defending World Cup champs. The good news for Tunisia was that they beat France. The bad news was that it still wasn’t enough to advance.
It helped that France made nine changes to their starting XI, so they were taking a risk by fielding a reserve squad to rest players for the knockout stage. So this Tunisian upset against France wasn’t as monumental as if they had been playing the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann, and Ousmane Dembélé for 90+ minutes. That being said, I’m sure all Tunisia cared about at the moment was the three points.
After a scoreless first half, Tunisia broke through in the 58th minute thanks to a Wahbi Khazri goal.
🇹🇳 ¡QUÉ GOLAZ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️!
😱 Wahbi Khazri anota el primer gol para Túnez en esta #FIFAWorldCup #TUN 1-0 #FRA #MundialTelemundo #ElMundialLoEsTodo #TUNvsFRA pic.twitter.com/x7acOIF2T7
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) November 30, 2022
Things got wild at the end of the match. After Tunisia held on for nearly 98 minutes, Griezmann equalized for France in the final seconds. It was a heartbreaking blow to Tunisia, and some of their fans were in tears. But after a VAR check, Griezmann was found to be offside in the buildup of the goal, and Tunisia got the 1-0 win.
The Defending FIFA World Cup Champions have now won their group for the third consecutive FIFA World Cup 🇫🇷
Catch all the highlights in our 90' in 90" ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/EpFv2rVWh3
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 30, 2022
That put Tunisia at four points, and if Australia and Denmark drew, Tunisia would’ve finished second. Instead, Australia scored about the same time Tunisia did and got their own 1-0 win against Denmark to keep their second spot.
With France winning the group and Australia finishing second, Australia is a potential quarterfinal opponent for the United States if the USMNT were to defeat the Netherlands. Australia’s opponent will be the Group C winner, either Poland, Argentina, or Saudi Arabia.
Many praised Tunisia’s gameplay even though they failed to advance. They gave it a great shot and did everything they could; sometimes, things happen that are out of your control.
It almost feels unfair to beat the world champions and still go out. Bad luck, Tunisia. A famous win.🇹🇳 pic.twitter.com/hjNaBN0sZJ
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) November 30, 2022
Tunisia are going home, but they ended France’s six-game World Cup winning streak on the way.
Respect. 🇹🇳🤝 pic.twitter.com/aXjS8wnp3y
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 30, 2022
Tunisia fans right now pic.twitter.com/Kak066OraO
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) November 30, 2022
It almost feels unfair to beat the world champions and still go out. Bad luck, Tunisia. A famous win.🇹🇳 pic.twitter.com/hjNaBN0sZJ
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) November 30, 2022
Tunisia won against the defending champions France, African teams are really giving us the fight we need at the world stage 👏
— Malik Ofori (@malikofori) November 30, 2022
Tunisia 🇹🇳 played their hearts out.
Didn’t make it through to the knockout stages but they handed France 🇫🇷 their first defeat in this #FIFAWorldCup
They may be leaving but they can be proud of the spirited displayed they showed. pic.twitter.com/NxEgCioytN
— Mimi Fawaz (@MimosaFawaz) November 30, 2022
This World Cup will miss the Tunisia fans.
And I say this as somebody who was kept awake by them outside my flat at 3am this morning 😂
They’ve been excellent.
— John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) November 30, 2022