Tunisia fail to qualify for the second round of the World Cup after losses to Russia and Japan and a draw against Belgium.But can the Africans hold their heads up high?
This debate is now closed. A selection of your e-mails appear below.
Gareth - how can you say Tunisia don't belong in the Finals? They played better then France and most European teams at the cup. You said Holland might have beaten Japan; How can you know that? Just because they have guys playing in Europe?
If that was the case we would have given France a 6-0 lead over Senegal and called it a day. The bottom line is, in a World Cup there is no telling what might happen.
Joe Ngassa, USA
It's sad to see Tunisia go out. They played some lovely football at times, I'm sure we'll see them again in four years time.
Darren,Ireland
It's absolutely unfair. Don't be depressed Tunisia, you're a real winner!!
Saint Chun, Canada Quite frankly getting beaten by Japan 2-0 is criminal and the nation should be ashamed!Gobal qualification would be a better idea so the best 32 nations actually qualify as opposed to weaker nations such as Tunisia - how can anybody argue that Tunisia are better than Holland, I know the Dutch would not have been beaten by Japan!
Gareth Lazell, London, England
In response to Karim's comment, yhe Tunisian team has quite a few towering players (Badra, Jaiidi,Melki, Godhbane, Boumnjel...to name a few) I suggest you adjust your tv set or may be check out their stats. As for scoring, they were able to prove they can score against Belgium.
I do however think that it's a monumental task to get through to the second round given that this team has been under the current Tunisian coach for only a month.
Maher, Tunisia I would like to remind Mr Sayer that Tunisia is not an awful team, he forgets that their players are all professionals playing in Europe, the same goes for the other participating African teams, so it is no surprise when Senegal beats France in an opening match.
Sherif, UK
They cannot score. Another disadvantage is that they are all under 5'10" (under 1.70 meters). No matter how good they are individually, the team suffers from a lack of height.
Karim,USA
The World cup is for great teams with great players and even in the developing world there are great players. Just not in Tunisia. Australia have to play a playoff against a great South American team, so why don't the awful teams like Tunisia have to prove themselves against the big boys?
Sayer, England
The team has faced a lot of problems. Four different coaches, different players and unexpected surprises. I hope that now we can start getting better results, showing quality in our play and behaving on the field at the same time.
Amjed ,USA
The problem with the Tunisian players is their mentality! They are just happy to be playing alongside famous European and South American players and they can't wait for the final whistle to try and swap t-shirts with the most famous player on the field. Until that attitude changes, they will never get anywhere.
Dean Bell,England
Tunisia in the World Cup! Am I dreaming? I must be. The World Cup is for big powerful countries!
Saddam Mohammed, Kuwait
