Tunisia’s
national coach said yesterday he will fear England’s Raheem Sterling
more than Harry Kane, when the two countries play against each other in
the World Cup finals this year. Nabil Maaloul was speaking in Doha,
where the Tunisian national team are preparing for Russia with a 14-day
winter training camp at the Aspire Zone.
Tunisia will meet England in
their first game in World Cup Group G, which also contains Belgium and
Panama. Asked about his country’s prospects in the opening match, and
specific players, Maaloul pointed to the threat from the Manchester City
star rather than the Tottenham forward and English captain.
“The
most dangerous player for me is Sterling, I think he is one of the best
players,” Maaloul said. “People say that Harry Kane is the biggest risk
but I think Raheem Sterling is the one. He is the biggest threat as a
player.”
He added: “It’s a young team, it’s changed in recent years.
The kind of English football has changed a lot after they hired coaches
like Guardiola or Conte. It’s a new kind of football, but we are going
to be prepared.”
Tunisia will be appearing in their fifth World Cup
in Russia. Their first was in Argentina in 1978 where, despite beating
Mexico and drawing with West Germany, they failed to make it out of the
group stage.
Indeed, Tunisia have yet to reach the knockout stages
and Russia could prove tough with top seed Belgium ranked number five in
the world and England at 15.
“We are going to be in a very difficult
group,” said Maaloul. “We are going to play Belgium and England but we
have started our preparations. For both teams we have preparations we
are thinking about.” Tunisia, ranked 27, will play Belgium in their
second group game.
Maaloul spoke highly of their training camp
facilities at Aspire Zone, and said: “This isn’t our first time in
Aspire, we’ve entered a previous training camp in 2013.”
Talking
about Tunisia’s ambition in Russia, he said: “With the 2018 FIFA World
Cup Russia five months away, our purpose is to make sure we put on an
honourable performance that will make Tunisians and all Arabs proud,
that’s our goal. To do that, we need to change the mentality of the
players and equip them with a professional attitude to prepare them
emotionally for the competition. We have the Tunisian team’s best
interest at heart, and we choose what we think is the best for them.”
He
added: “We’re fortunate to have been given the opportunity from Aspire
Zone and the Tunisian Football Federation to come here for training. The
training camp has been successful on all levels. It’s great to be able
to have access to such world-class facilities, and medical and
hospitality services that are perfectly placed in one place. Aspire Zone
has provided us with everything we need, and the training was made even
better thanks to the amazing weather. The facilities in Aspire Zone are
unlike any other in the world, and it is one of the best in the entire
world. We’re very happy with the support we’ve received from the people
in Qatar, and particularly the Tunisian residents who were keen to
attend our training session for support.”
When asked to give his
opinion on the performance of Qatar team, who are currently competing at
the 2018 the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Championship, Maaloul,
said: “The Olympic national team’s excellent run at the AFC-U23
championship (having qualified for the quarter-finals) was made possible
because the youth team has been practising and entering training camps
together for years, so they’re more accustomed to each other’s style of
play. Their coach is also doing a great job. The team has some very key
players, and 80% of them are expected to be seen representing Qatar at
the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.”
Aspire Zone’s Mohammed Mubarak
al-Kuwari, Chief Marketing Officer at AZF, also said: “We’re honoured to
have the Tunisian national team train here at Aspire, and we
congratulate them on their 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia qualification.
This training camp shortly follows the recently concluded training camps
for FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, who have returned to
Aspire Zone during the winter break for many years. Aspire Zone is proud
to house various elite training camps each year in line with their
mission to elevate sports in Qatar and become the Reference in Sports
Excellence Worldwide by 2020.”
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Aymen
Mathlouthi and Captain of the Tunisian national team, said: “We’ve been
in Doha for 15 days and everyone’s been very pleased with our time here.
We’re currently focusing on honing our technical skills and get the
necessary medical assessments completed to ensure we’re as fit as we can
be.”
Tunisia’s national football coach Nabil Maaloul (left) and Mohammed Mubarak al-Kuwari, Chief Marketing Officer at AZF at a press conference at the Aspire Zone in Doha yesterday.