Contrasting weekend for Tunisian clubs involved in African competitions. While Esperance de Tunis ensured their qualification for the group stage of the Champions League, their compatriots sank. US Monastirienne, Stade Tunisien and Étoile du Sahel left the continental scene in the second preliminary round, confirming a worrying decline in Tunisian football outside its bases.
Hope, the only light in the night
At the Hammadi Agrebi stadium, the Sang et Or enforced the hierarchy. 3-0 winners over Rahimo FC from Burkina Faso (after the 1-0 first leg success), they never trembled.
Masters of tempo, technically dominant, they completed the double confrontation with seriousness and authority. The Bab Souika club thus joins the group stage of the Champions League, single-handedly bringing Tunisian hopes to the African scene.
In Tizi Ouzou, the US Monastirienne left the competition without glory. Beaten 2-1 by JS Kabylie, after a 3-0 defeat in the first leg, the Sahel team never found the key against a sharper and better organized Algerian team.
L’Étoile: cruel disappointment on penalties
In Sousse, Étoile du Sahel thought they could turn the tide against Nairobi United. The Stars caught up again (2-0), before giving in during the fatal penalty shootout (6-7). A painful elimination for a team which had regained momentum but lacked lucidity at the decisive moment.
Same observation in Radès, where Stade Tunisien, although victorious 2-1 over the Olympic Club of Safi, was eliminated due to its 2-0 defeat in the first leg. A useless success, symbol of sterile domination and a cruel lack of offensive efficiency.
Three clubs eliminated out of four: the observation is harsh. Tunisia, once a feared power in Africa, now seems to be losing momentum. Lack of realism, mental deficit and lack of tactical ambition: the symptoms of a structural weakening that only Esperance, through its experience and rigor, still manages to mask.
The Bab Souika club will alone carry the Tunisian flag in African games. A heavy responsibility, but also an opportunity to prove that the greatness of Tunisian football is not completely extinct.
Champions League
- ES Tunis – Rahimo FC (Burkina Faso) 3-0 (first leg 1-0)
- JS Kabylie – US Monastirienne 2-1 (3-0)
Confederation Cup
- Etoile du Sahel – Nairobi United (Kenya) 2-0 (first leg 0-2) (6-7 pen.)
- Stade Tunisie – Olympic Club de Safi (Morocco) 2-1 (0-2)
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