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Paul Watson

๐Ÿ‘ค Speaker
419 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

and apparently that's one of the biggest issues they've got as a team is they have to get over this psychological hurdle that they've never gone further than that and it's been really interesting because their coach has been genuinely saying this is a team that should be aiming to win the World Cup and you know the instinct is to scoff at that but it's a very very good team until these string of injuries that have come in and I think probably taken away any chance of them going seriously seriously deep but yeah I think psychologically it's a big one for them

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

Yeah, I mean, Tunisia is a really tricky one, isn't it?

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

Because you can look at them in various different ways.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

I mean, there's this stat, again, they didn't concede a single goal in qualification.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

And that sounds great until you look at the fact they're in a group with Namibia, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, Malawi and Sao Tome and Principe.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

So they just weren't really tested.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

And I think as Wilson alluded to, this change of managers has been interesting.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

They were...

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

They had Sami Trabelsi in there.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

They didn't do well at AFCON.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

And then they've brought in Sabri Lamouchi, who was Ivory Coast coach in 2014.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

He got them to 2014 World Cup and then got knocked out of the group.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

So again, not a coach you can massively say...

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

either way is a good or bad choice.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

But really the big thing that stands out to me is the lack of any real forward options, like striking options.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

There was talk that Louis-Ben Farhat, this 19-year-old sort of rising star, was going to be the big hope.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

And he, well, he's not been selected, but apparently his dad turned down selection for him.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

I don't know if that's true, but basically he said, don't pick him.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

He's not ready.

Football Weekly
World Cup 2026 preview: Groups E-H โ€“ Football Weekly

I don't know.