The Tunisian national team made a strong start in their first appearance in the Arab Cup since 1988, securing a significant victory over their Mauritanian counterpart with a score of 5-1. This win was bolstered by two goals each from Seifeddine Jaziri and Mohamed Belarbi on Monday at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan during the first round of Group B. After winning the inaugural edition in 1963 in Beirut, Tunisia had not participated in the Arab Cup until 1988 in Jordan, where they were eliminated in the first round. They then missed the next four editions in 1992 in Egypt, 1998 and 2002 in Saudi Arabia, and 2012 in Morocco, before returning to participate in the current tournament, which serves as preparation for the World Cup scheduled to take place in Qatar at the end of next year.
Tunisia qualified for the decisive stage of the African qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and made a successful return against Mauritania, who previously faced the "Eagles of Carthage" in the qualifiers for the Qatari World Cup, suffering a 0-3 defeat in the first leg and playing to a scoreless draw in the second leg last month.
For Mauritania, their second appearance in this tournament did not start successfully, raising hopes of avoiding a repeat of the 1985 scenario in Taif when they were eliminated in the first round. However, the task for coach Didier Gomes da Rosa, who took charge about three weeks ago, will not be easy with the presence of the UAE and Syria in the group, which will face each other later at "Stadium 974" in Doha.
From the onset, it was clear that the players under coach Mondher Kbaier were determined to secure the three points, pressuring the goal of Boubacar Diop, who avoided an early goal when the crossbar denied a header from Yassine Meriah (16). Mauritania faced a setback with Diop's injury, causing him to leave the game in the 21st minute for Namory Diaw, who bore the brunt of the Tunisian pressure and attempts from Jaziri and his teammates while his teammates relied on counterattacks towards Farouk Ben Mustafa's goal. The left post denied Hamid El-Tanji's header (37).
Jaziri opened the scoring just two minutes later following a remarkable individual effort and a pass from Hannibal Mejbri (39). Tunisia quickly added a second goal with a magnificent shot from the edge of the area by Belarbi, who participated in the tournament just days after the passing of his father (42). Jaziri then delivered a decisive blow to the Mauritanians with a third goal after receiving a header from Fakhreddine Ben Youssef; he initially shot at the goalkeeper, but the ball returned to him, allowing him to follow up with a backheel into the net (+45+2).
Mauritania managed to score before the end of the first half from a penalty kick awarded after consultation with VAR due to a handball by Mohamed Amin Ben Hamida in the penalty area. Mouloud Ahmed Khalil "Bassem" successfully converted the penalty (+45+12). However, the gap returned to three goals at the start of the second half with a second personal goal for Belarbi, who capitalized on a defensive error, making a low shot to the left of the goalkeeper (51).
After ensuring the lead, the Tunisian team opted to manage the remainder of the match with caution to avoid fatigue and injuries, especially with a game against Syria on Friday in Al Khor and then the UAE three days later in Doha. Nevertheless, this did not stop them from threatening Diaw’s goal multiple times, including scoring their fifth goal through substitute Youssef Msakni after a cross from another substitute, Yassine Chikhaoui (+90+1).
