Four things we learnt from Tunisia's win against France
AL RAYYAN, QATAR - NOVEMBER 30: Wahbi Khazri of Tunisia celebrates his side's first goal with his team mates during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group D match between Tunisia and France at Education City Stadium on November 30, 2022 in Al Rayyan, Qatar. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

The final round of matches in Group D have concluded, with bottom side Tunisia, producing a shock 1-0 victory against high-flying France at the Education City Stadium. 

A second-half strike from Tunisia's star-man Wahbi Kahzri was enough to cause another shock World Cup upset. It was not all plain sailing however, with French playmaker Antoine Griezmann having a last minute goal ruled out in controversial circumstances. 

However the victory was not enough for Tunisia, as they finished third in their group, two points behind Australia. Meanwhile, France had already qualified for the knockout stages and despite defeat, they finished in top-spot. 

Following the final result, let's take a look at the four things we have learnt from the game. 

  • Kahzri strikes again

Going into the World Cup, Tunisia were expected to struggle and were predicted to crash out without a point. Therefore, to avoid this, they needed their key men to stand out and boost the morale of the rest of the team. 

Step forward Wahbi Kahzri, who struck an excellent effort from the edge of the penalty area, past Steve Mandanda in what was the only goal of the game. 

The goal was Tunisia's one and only goal of the tournament, but it was almost the goal that made history. He has boosted his personal persona but has also helped to put his side back on the map, going into their next international tournament. 

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  • So close, yet so far

Tunisia were definitely one of the nations most under-appreciated sides throughout the competition so far, after they picked up an excellent point against Denmark. 

They were then defeated narrowly by Australia, before causing a big upset by beating the reigning champions France. For a nation, with limited standout players, they did their country proud and certainly left a lasting impression for future tournaments. 

At the time of Kahzri's goal, Tunisia would have finished second in the group, making the knockout stages for the first ever time but unfortunately, Australia struck the only goal of their game just two minutes later, which eliminated them from the competition. 

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  • Griezmann denied in controversial circumstances

VAR has already been strictly analysed throughout the tournament so far, with some major calls and disappointing decisions being made in the process. This includes awarding Portugal a penalty for an uncontrollable handball against Uruguay, as well as Iran's late penalty against England. 

Substitute Griezmann struck what he believed was a late equaliser for France, when he volleyed home an effort, taking a deflection in the process. However, with the European side celebrating, the goal was reviewed and disallowed for an offside in the build-up. 

In the process, a cross was floated into the area towards the Atletico Madrid forward. However, he did not make any attempts to win the ball and instead reacted after the cross was half-cleared by Tunisia. 

Debates commenced, but as the ball was crossed into the path of Griezmann who was in an offside position at the time, the goal was ruled out for offside. Controversial but the correct call has been made, and fortunately it did not have any affects on the final table standings.

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  • Knockouts await the reigning champions

Despite defeat to Tunisia, France had already qualified and essentially guaranteed top-spot before the game had kicked off. However, the final score in this game, could have been very different had the holders had something to play for. 

However, ahead of kick-off, the French did not know their knockout stage opponents, and would have to await news until Group C had finished their final group matches. 

We now know that France will take on the Group C runners -up, which in this case, is fellow European side Poland. The Polish side finished second on goal difference, despite losing 2-0 to Argentina in the final match of the group-stages. Mexico almost grabbed second, but conceded a late goal to Saudi Arabia, which meant their 2-1 win was not enough to send them through. 

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