Tunisia head coach Sami Trabelsi has declared his side ready for a tough test against the Super Eagles of Nigeria ahead of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Group C encounter, describing the West Africans as strong both offensively and defensively.
The Carthage Eagles face Nigeria tonight in Fès, with a place in the Round of 16 at stake. Tunisia comes into the fixture with confidence after opening their AFCON campaign with a convincing 3–1 victory over Uganda’s Cranes.
Historically, Nigeria holds the advantage in AFCON meetings between both sides, recording four wins from seven encounters. However, Trabelsi insisted that past results would have no bearing on the outcome of the latest clash.
“Yes, in the last game there was no real expression,” Trabelsi was quoted as saying by CAFonline. “When we play with only organised offence and defence, it decreases the performance of some players. Nigeria are strong offensively and defensively.”
The Tunisian coach emphasised that his team’s focus remains strictly on on-field execution, dismissing distractions from social media narratives or historical statistics. According to him, success at the tournament requires total commitment from every player.
“All players will be involved, not only defenders,” Trabelsi added. “We focus only on the field; social media or past results will not affect us.”
He also provided an update on midfielder Hazem, confirming the player’s improving fitness ahead of the match. Trabelsi acknowledged that every team has vulnerabilities, noting that Tunisia’s technical crew has carefully studied Nigeria’s strengths and weaknesses.
“There is no national team without weak points, and we have studied Nigeria’s,” he said. “To go far in this competition, we must beat big teams.”
The encounter is expected to be one of the standout fixtures of Group C, with both sides eager to assert dominance and secure early qualification, setting the stage for a fiercely contested showdown in Fès.
