Sunday, June 13, 2021
Africa's Pioneers, Part 3
The 1978 Tunisians' first-up win over Mexico had been a surprise, but it was generally expected that their encounter with 1974 bronze medallists Poland would bring them down to earth.
The Polish side was little changed since the West German tournament, with only the creative midfielder Robert Gadocha a notable absentee. And Wlodzimierz Lubanski, the renowned forward who had missed the 1974 event with an injury, was available this time around. But the team had looked somewhat uninspired in the opening draw with West Germany, and a little too reliant on the two heroes of the previous World Cup, the midfield general Kazimierz Deyna and the right-winger Grzegorz Lato.
Abdelmajid Chetali made only one change to the side that had defeated Mexico, the striker Ben Aziza making way for the rugged defender Khalid Gasmi, who was given the task of keeping Deyna in check.
With their main man under close guard and their striker, Andrzej Szarmach, plainly out of form, Poland looked ponderous in the first half. Once again the Tunisians employed the full-team offside press that had functioned so well against Mexico, and although they were twice very lucky with the offside decisions awarded in their favour, the tactic generally had its desired effect. Only Lato looked consistently dangerous, always looking for an opening, always willing to run with the ball.
Tunisia, it must be said, were less than incisive up front as well, and as in their previous game they conceded a potentially demoralising goal just before half-time. The mercurial Ali Kaabi badly miscued a clearance in the box, and Lato was immediately on hand to bang the ball home.
Once again, however, they rallied splendidly after the break. Although Tarek Dhiab, with his pinpoint left-footed passes, was at the heart of things as always, the keeper Mokhtar Naili played a significant part in the revival as well, making two excellent saves from Szarmach and Lubanski. As the game wore on, the question again arose: could these part-timers keep up with the professionals in the fitness stakes in the closing stages?
The answer was amply provided in a final twenty minutes in which the Poles were completely outplayed. A superb one-touch move through the midfield ended with a shot from Tunisia's captain, Temime Lahzami, which crashed against the Polish bar. From that moment on, the chances came thick and fast: one for the adventurous left-back Kaabi, two for the right-sided midfielder Mohammed Agrebi, as the crowd began to chant "Tu-NEZ! Tu-NEZ!" - there was no question who the neutrals were favouring by now.
The Poles were reduced to time-wasting tactics, which they indulged in to some degree towards the close. The introduction of the young striker Zbigniew Boniek, who should surely have been on from the beginning, blunted the Tunisian onslaught to some extent, but there was still time for Kaabi to receive a completely free header five yards from goal, which he put agonisingly wide.
The Poles reacted with visible relief to the final whistle. The commentators were agreed that Tunisia had deserved a point from the game. The Guardian, the following day, reported that the Tunisians "showed no sense of inferiority" against the Poles, who were "hanging on desperately" towards the end. An African team was proving itself worthy of respect at the World Cup. And they still had a chance of progressing - if they could pull off the ultimate upset, against the reigning champions, in their final game. More in Part 4.
