OUR TARGET IS THE ULTIMATE SAYS TUNISIAN WOMEN’S COACH SAMIR

The head coach of Tunisia’s senior women’s team, Landolsi Samir has said that his team are aiming to progress from the group stage at this year’s TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign in Morocco.

Following their debut in 2008, the Tunisians, who will be making their second appearance in the continent’s biggest women’s competition were pitted in Group B alongside Zambia, Cameroon and Togo.

Commenting on the draw, Samir analysed the pedigrees and strengths of their prospective group stage counterparts when the first women’s championship on a North African soil kicks off on July 2, 2022.

“Cameroon are one of the best women’s national teams in Africa, participating in the France 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup,” he commented.

“They are the favourite team in this group alongside Zambia, who participated in the last Summer Olympics. The Zambians are also a good team capable of qualifying from the group.

“The Togolese national football team are taking part in the tournament for the first time, while we are making our appearance at the competition for the second time.

“Despite the difficulty of the group, we can still qualify from the group, especially since two third-placed teams are in contention.”

The Carthage Eagles thrash Egypt 7-2 on aggregate before silencing two-time winners Equatorial Guinea 7-3 on aggregate to earn a continental return for the first time since 2008.

After inspiring the 2008 maiden qualification, Landolsi returned on his fourth stint in 2021 to achieve a similar feat and has opened up on his quest to guide them to the knockout stage.

“The qualification of Tunisia was achieved against both Egypt and Equatorial Guinea, with convincing results and it is morale boosting for us to excel at the main tournament,” he continued.

“Our first match will be against the Togolese and we will try to win this game and wait for what will happen in the remaining games against Cameroon and Zambia.

 “In a bid for good results, we will do what is necessary to move on to the second round, despite the difficulty of the task.”

In 2008, the North Africans failed to progress from the group phase after securing just a draw from three matches but this time, Samir is upbeat about their chances in Morocco.

“Our first participation at the WAFCON in Equatorial Guinea 2008 was satisfactory participation due to the growth of Tunisian women’s football in 2004,” he reflected.

“This is our second participation and we will seek to move on to the second round and to go as far as possible, despite the difficulty of the task.”