18-Nov, start time: 15:05, end time: 16:58 - Attendance: 2,140

FRA	3	23	23	25	25	18	114
TUN	2	25	25	18	21	16	105

Match Description:

France Struggle to Overcome Gutsy Tunisians
France avoided the first major upset of the men's World Cup when they fought back from two sets down to defeat Tunisia 3-2 on their fifth match point in a thrilling encounter at Site B in Nagano.

Having started with most of their second string, France struggled against a committed Tunisian side before emerging 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 18-16 victors for their second win in three games.

Any signs Tunisia felt intimidated were quickly dismissed when they came out aggressively. Noureddine Hfaiedh enjoyed an effective start as Tunisia matched France point for point to reach midway in the opening set level at 14-14. With the North Africans growing in confidence, Chakar Ghezal and Khaled Belaid showed some nice touches before Hfaiedh fittingly sealed the first set with two powerful hits.

The towering Jean-Charles Monneraye came more into the game at the start of the second as France began the expected fight back. But Tunisia were in no mood to roll over and were level at 15-15. Marouan Fehri began to punish loose French play on the way to Tunisia claiming the second with another piece of magic from Hfaiedh.
Captain Dominique Daquin and MIP Laurent Capet were then introduced as France began to find their rhythm and claw their way back into the match. They claimed the next two sets and had just enough composure and firepower to come back from 7-8 down in the tiebreak to see out the tie on their fifth match point.

Comments:

"I'd like to congratulate Tunisia on a great game. We had many difficulties with our serve and reception. I'm not happy with the way we played but Laurent Capet gave us a lot in attack and that is how we managed to come back and win the game."
PHILIPPE BLAIN
Head coach, France

"Today's match was very difficult and it proves there are no easy matches against smaller teams in this competition. We left a little energy behind when we started and at 2-0 down it was very difficult for us to come back."
STEPHANE ANTIGA
France

"France taught us the difference between us and the top sides in the world. My team played very well today and our tactics were good against the French - we had the opportunity for a very big win. It was a historic chance for us to beat a team as good as France. It was a very good performance from my players and it will help them against the other teams in this competition."
ANTONIO GIACOBBE
Head coach, Tunisia

"We lost to one of the best teams in Europe, one of the best teams in the world. But we had a historic opportunity to beat them. It came down to just one point. Had we won that one point then I think we would have won the fifth set."
GHAZI GUIDARA
Captain, Tunisia

Official Result:

Match statistics (P-2) - PDF