Tunisia still stunned after WC qualification

PARIS – Tunisia coach Roger Lemerre said he was stunned by his side’s qualification for the 2006 World Cup finals after a nail-biting 2-2 home draw against Morocco on Saturday.

The coach, who led France to their Euro 2000 title, was especially pleased by his players’ attitude. “There is something really strong in this team,” Lemerre told French sports daily L’Equipe yesterday.The African champions needed a draw against Morocco in their last qualifier to book their ticket to Germany and they had to come from behind twice to reach their third consecutive World Cup finals.Lemerre, who was named Tunisia coach in August 2002 after France’s shock first-round exit at the World Cup, praised his side for their tenacity.”Our start to the campaign was not excellent,” he said.”We had only five points from three games and we were even bottom of our group.In Guinea (2-1 defeat), everybody was below par, players and coach.”But we did not give up and then our record was almost perfect,” Lemerre added.Brazil-born striker Santos said Tunisia were not relaxed enough at the start of the Morocco game.RC Lens forward Issam Jomaa added his side had shown enough willpower and solidarity to overcome their early deficit in the game.-Nampa-Reuters”There is something really strong in this team,” Lemerre told French sports daily L’Equipe yesterday.The African champions needed a draw against Morocco in their last qualifier to book their ticket to Germany and they had to come from behind twice to reach their third consecutive World Cup finals.Lemerre, who was named Tunisia coach in August 2002 after France’s shock first-round exit at the World Cup, praised his side for their tenacity.”Our start to the campaign was not excellent,” he said.”We had only five points from three games and we were even bottom of our group.In Guinea (2-1 defeat), everybody was below par, players and coach.”But we did not give up and then our record was almost perfect,” Lemerre added.Brazil-born striker Santos said Tunisia were not relaxed enough at the start of the Morocco game.RC Lens forward Issam Jomaa added his side had shown enough willpower and solidarity to overcome their early deficit in the game.-Nampa-Reuters