France in the 2022 World Cup: last minute of the French team in Qatar, live today

Talbi: “It’s not an eleven against Mbappé, it’s an eleven against eleven”

Montassar Talbi, a footballer for the Tunisian national team, stated this Tuesday at a press conference, on the eve of facing France in a decisive match for the future of his team in the World Cup in Qatar, that France is not only Kylian Mbappé and that Your team will have to look at the entire rival group.

With one point after drawing in the first game with Denmark (0-0), Tunisia has an almost impossible mission to reach the round of 16. They must beat France and hope for a favorable result in Australia-Denmark. Talbi, who played three weeks ago against Mbappé with Lorient in Ligue 1, made it clear that the French star is not the only danger for the team led by Didier Deschamps.

“It will be a difficult match in managing emotions and the pace of the game. We will have to be patient, not just defend or attack. France has very good individualities, it is a very good team in transition. And yes, Mbappé is one of the The best players in the world in this area. I played against him three weeks ago, but it’s not eleven against Mbappé, it’s eleven players against eleven players. Many factors are going to count, the atmosphere, what’s at stake, the aspect of the match. .”, he stressed.

Talbi acknowledged that Tunisia’s defeat to Australia (0-1) was “disappointing and frustrating”, and recalled that football “is not an exact science”. “Although we have the level to do better, we weren’t able to materialize our opportunities. But we don’t have time to get frustrated,” he said.

“The good thing about this type of competition is that we go from less to more. Four days after losing against Australia, we have a golden opportunity to redeem ourselves, show another side and do something great against France,” he added.

He also spoke about his fans, who turned out in large numbers to watch the game against Australia, and made it clear that it is “very important” for the African team and that they were sorry to have “let them down”.

“We lost and they kept singing. The strength they give us is incredible, they are perhaps the best fans here in Qatar,” he said.

Due to his dual nationality (he also has French), he stated that he has many friends and family in France and that, for this reason, the clash that he will play this Wednesday “will be special” for everyone around them. “But we want to do our best, for the country, and win,” she added.

Finally, he spoke about Morocco’s victory over Belgium (2-0) and recognized that it could be an inspiring match for Tunisia: “We can do something good, we showed it in our first match against Denmark. France is a very big challenge, but we have the ability and skills to make them uncomfortable. We are prepared to deal with them. We believe in our options.”