"A great loss and pain (pain), and at the same time joy in the victory over France with its great stars Mbappe and Griezmann. May God forgive those who were the cause of this bitter withdrawal." With such phrases, a number of Tunisian fans were exchanging discussion, as they left a cafe - in the middle The capital, Tunisia - after the end of their national team's match against France, in the third round of the first round for Group D, with a historic victory for the Carthage Eagles against the 2018 World Champions.

Outside the café located on Bourguiba Street - the largest street in the capital, Tunis - feelings of heartbreak and disappointment were painted on everyone's faces, but they were tinged with joy and pride after a victory that was the first for the Tunisian team in the history of its confrontations with its French counterpart, and the first - also - for the Carthage Eagles in the Qatar World Cup, except He did not pass them to the final price round of the competition, which is the achievement that Tunisia still dreams of since its first appearance in the World Cup in 1978.

A large number of Tunisians flocked to the cafes of the capital, Tunis, to watch the Tunisian national team match against France (Al-Jazeera Net)

And at the Education City Stadium, the Tunisian national team entered its confrontation against France - who booked its qualification ticket to the second round before the match - while chasing a small glimmer of hope to catch up with its competitor to the same round, as the qualification calculations were complex and the assumptions of the Carthage Eagles crossing were very weak.

But Wahbi Khazri was able to free the throats of the Tunisians, not only in the stands of the Education City stadium;

Rather, it is inside the cafes in the streets of the capital, Tunis, and the country’s governorates as well, which remained clinging to a small hope of qualifying.

We are proud enough to defeat Mbappe

Tunisia achieved an impressive victory over the roosters with a goal without a response, scored by the French club Montpellier striker Khazri, who is one of ten players in the Tunisian squad who were born in France, but that historic goal was not enough for his country to qualify for the final price, after the national team achieved Australia surprised and stunned its Danish counterpart with a goal without a response, to reserve the second card for Group D.

Despite the bitterness of exclusion from the World Cup, many Tunisians did not hide their feelings of joy and praise for what they described as the heroic performance of the Eagles in the face of one of the strongest teams in the World Cup Qatar, France, which is a strong candidate to retain the World Cup title, and crowned it in Russia 2018.

In the Tunisian scene, Kamal bin Mahmoud seemed ecstatic about the historic victory - while he was going out with a number of his friends after watching the Tunisia-France match, in a cafe located in the center of the capital Tunis - counting the joy of victory and the impressive performance of the players that overshadowed his feeling of sadness, after leaving the World Cup race, according to His saying.

Wahbi Al-Khazari achieved the goal with a wonderful individual effort and signed the first goal, penetrating the French defenses successfully, after Ali Bin Ramadan cut him the ball in front of Fofana.

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Bin Mahmoud told Al-Jazeera Net, "It is enough for us to be proud that we defeated the French national team, and defeated Kylian Mbappe, the best striker in the world for me. It is a loss to bid farewell to the World Cup in such a very harsh way, and the ball did not do us justice, and we paid the price of a painful defeat against Australia, and the withdrawal is painful, but at least We came out with honor, and conquered France."

The Tunisian national team has never come out with the same achievement, since it achieved a victory and a draw, in its first participation in the World Cup - in the 1978 edition of Argentina - when it beat Mexico, was defeated by Poland and tied with Germany, and settled - at best - with a victory and two defeats, which is what it achieved. In the last participation in the World Cup Russia 2018.

Tunisia finished third in Group D, with 4 points from a win, a draw and a defeat, to leave the race and leave the second qualification card for Australia.

Remarkable achievement and honorable performance

For his part, the coach of the Tunisian Football Association, Zouita, praised the heroic performance of the Carthage Eagles against a team with experience and capabilities, which makes it one of the most prominent bets on the title of the World Cup in Qatar, he said.

In statements to Al-Jazeera Net, Zueita said, "It is very honorable to see our team play without accounts and without a complex of deficiency in front of the France team full of star players. What we have achieved today may be the beginning of forming a large team capable of achieving better results, especially since this group of players includes Young elements capable of gaining more experience and leading Tunisia to better results.We should build on the ruins of the France match, and forget what happened before it, because these are the rules of the ball that sometimes give you victory without performing, and sometimes make you hard. ".

However, the coach of the Tunisian Football Association could not hide his feeling of bitterness, regarding what he considered “the cruelty of the ball,” saying, “It is a loss that this team does not pass. We did not think that we would be facing this exciting scenario: that we beat the world champion and collect 4 points, but we We leave the Arab World Cup, especially since there are teams that will go through to the next round with 4 points.

In his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Zueita acknowledged the mistakes made by his country's national team in the last confrontation against Australia, which led to a 1-0 loss and reduced the chances of the Carthage Eagles to qualify, and complicated its paths to crossing into the second round.

He said, "It is certain that there were mistakes that occurred in that match. It may be improper choices from the technical staff or a miscalculation by the players, but football is not without mistakes. In general, we must not be ungrateful in front of the coach and the players. They were able to honor Tunisia." And Arab football, despite the bitterness of withdrawal.

The Tunisian national team was eliminated from the competition, since the first round, in an achievement similar to what it achieved in 5 previous participations: in 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2018.