Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul says they planned for the Pharaohs

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Wednesday Jun 14, 2017. 13:00

In the wake of their 1-0 win over Egypt last weekend, Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul says they studied every move by the Pharaohs and planned accordingly.

Speaking after their first 2019 CAF Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers match away on Sunday, Maaloul acknowledged the North African derby wasn't an easy game.

The encounter was staged in Alexandria and the only goal of the match came through Taha Yassine Khenissi.

Media reports in Egypt report that Hector Cuper's men failed to reproduce the form that took them to the 2017 Nations Cup final in Gabon.

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"It was not an easy game, and this is always the case in Tunisia-Egypt duels. What counts in such matches is the victory but we did it in style too," Maaloul said.

"We were prepared and dominated the game end-to-end against the runners up of the last Africa Cup of Nations and the top ranked African team in the FIFA ranking.

"We knew their style of play and that's why we had always Abdallah El-Said, Mohamed Salah and Ramadan Sobhi under the surveillance of our players.

"We also pressed their back line to force them to play long balls and break the build-up of their play.

"I am happy with the players' spirit and performance in such a tough game, especially that it came at the end of the season."

The victory sees the Eagles of Carthage placed at the top of Group J standings with three points, while the Pharaohs are placed third without a single point.