The streets of the capital, Tunis, turned into a field of noisy celebrations on Tuesday evening, after the Tunisian national team qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar for the second time in a row and the sixth in its history.
Tunisia advanced after a goalless draw with Mali in the second leg of the decisive round of African qualifiers, and won 1-0 on the aggregate score.
Tunisians took to the streets and blew car horns to celebrate their country’s success in reaching the finals in Qatar.
A few thousand fans, waving Tunisian flags and chanting songs and chants, gathered to express their joy at qualifying in Habib Bourguiba Avenue and a number of other cities in the country.
After the final whistle, a great joy erupted in the stands and on the field, and tears of joy flooded the coach’s and players’ eyes.
Msakni fears injuries before the World Cup
“Despite the difficulty of the match, we performed a strong tactical performance to achieve a tie and qualify thanks to our victory in the first leg,” Youssef Msakni said, resisting tears after the match.
The injury excluded Msakni, the captain of the Tunisian national team, from his country’s squad for the World Cup in Russia 4 years ago.
“(The absence from the previous World Cup) remained a black point in my career, but now everything is in the past. God willing, we will avoid injuries to participate in the tournament that is being held in Qatar,” Msakni added in statements to local media.
Tunisia has previously participated in the World Cup finals 5 times in 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2018.