Jaziri fuels Tunisia’s Arab Cup ambitions

Clinical finishing

Tunisia impressed everyone with their strong offence against Mauritania. They registered five goals but could have won by an even greater margin had they taken all the chances.

Asked about the team’s main strengths, Jaziri said: “We have a very good group of players. The strong bond we have is the secret to our success. Young players respect older ones, and that respect is reciprocated. The atmosphere on the pitch is wonderful and we hope it continues like that and that we continue to win.

“We’re fully focused and will deal with each game as it comes. Today’s victory was great, but it’s only the start, and we still have a long way to go. At these kinds of tournaments, winning your first game is very important, and that’s what we did, but we still have two games against Syria and the UAE, and we must keep up the good work for the remainder of the tournament.”

Title aspirations

Having scored the first goal in the Arab Cup in its first edition under the auspices of FIFA, Jaziri made a little bit of history. Asked about Tunisia’s opponents, he said: “Mauritania are a good team but now we’re going to focus on the Syria match, which we want to win.”

The Zamalek player made clear his desire to win this much coveted title. “Our goal is to win the competition. The Tunisian people deserve the joy it would bring, and we’ll do all we can here to make them happy,” he explained.

Asked which team he thinks will go far in the tournament, he said after a long pause: “I hope we’ll play Algeria in the final.”

Hard work pays off

Jaziri struggled at the beginning of his football career until he joined Zamalek, one of the most reputable clubs in in Egypt and the Arab footballing world. He previously played for Club Africain, where he was hampered by some misfortunes. He then had stints at CS Hammam-Lif and US Ben Graden in Tunisia before signing for Egypt’s Tanta.

He then returned to his home country to play for Stade Gabesien and, after several spells on loan, moved to El Mokawloon, where he became a standout player. That ultimately led to him move to Zamalek, where he became one of the club’s best players and earned an international call-up.

Asked what he did to finally reach the top, the 28-year-old said: “When you work hard and set yourself a goal, nothing can stop you or stand in your way. You must persevere to reach the summit and, regardless of the obstacles you face, you’ll ultimately achieve your aim.”

Speaking of his individual ambitions in the tournament, Jaziri concluded: “I want to finish the event as the top scorer. I’ve scored two already and I hope to do even better in the coming games.”