FIFA 2022 World Cup: France lose to Tunisia to end group stage as

France’s winning run at the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been ended by Tunisia after the Eagles of Carthage defeated them 1-0 at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan on Wednesday. Wahbi Khazri scored the opening goal of the game just before the hour-mark, yet it was not enough for Jalel Kadri’s side because of Australia’s 1-0 win over Denmark.

Didier Deschamps heavily rotated his side for this clash in a bid to keep key performers fresh going into the knockout phase. Kylian Mbappe, Adrien Rabiot and Griezmann were all rested and eventually sent on as substitutes as Deschamps gave minutes to many of his reserve players.

Marcus Thuram was ill and unable to feature, but Axel Disasi became the first French international debutant during a World Cup since 1966 while Steve Mandanda broke Bernard Lama’s 22-year record as the oldest player for Les Bleus at nearly 38. However, the defending champions found it tough from the off with the likes of Eduardo Camavinga struggling in a makeshift left back role without Theo Hernandez and it was no surprise that Tunisia threatened to go ahead.

Nader Ghandri had a header ruled out for offside inside the opening 10 minutes, but it was not the only chance they had…