Tunisia coach Roger Lemerre said nerves, not lack of talent, cost Tunisia the game against Spain on Monday. "As soon as you drop your guard at the highest level, as soon as you lose a bit of concentration, you pay for it," the French coach said. In spite of taking an early lead, the Carthage Eagles lost 3-1 to Spain, who netted three goals with the last twenty minutes of play. Lemerre insisted the goals were not a showing of inferiority, but of anxiety. "As a team we dealt with them well, and the goals came from individual lapses in concentration," he said. "The large number of yellow cards reflected the nerves of the players, and it also proves that they pushed us to our limits." Lemerre went on to praise the Carthage Eagles' efforts during the second half, claiming the lengthy stand-off showed a strong strategy on Tunisia's side. "The team didn't fall apart in the second-half and Spain only put two significant moves together, but the circumstances of the match meant the result switched around very quickly," he said. "What I'll take from the game is how well our tactics worked." While the victory guaranteed Spain a slot in the round of 16, Tunisia, who have only one point, were left facing a must-win game against Ukraine in their last Group H game. But Lemerre was both pragmatic and confident about Tunisia's chances against Ukraine, who crushed Saudi Arabia 4-0 earlier on Monday.
"I wouldn't say I'm optimistic about the match against Ukraine – I'm just realistic," he said. "This performance gives us hope and we have to convert that into a result against the Ukrainians." Spain coach Luis Aragones admitted the team struggled against Tunisia, but said Tunisia failed to apply the necessary pressure to win. "This win was very hard to come by. The Tunisians caused us problems with their counter-attacking style," he said. "At the start, we played too many long balls, which meant Senna and Xavi were powerless in midfield. "I don't think Tunisia ever dominated us, though. They scored early on and waited for us to come at them, but we dictated the game and they never really put us under pressure." Aragones praised his opposite number, saying the change in strategy threw Spain off but he was quick to point out that his team adjusted to the style by the second-half. "Lemerre departed from his usual tactics by putting a fifth man in midfield, and that was intelligent," Spain's boss said. "We dealt with it after the break though, with Xavi improving and Cesc (Fabregas) coming on and doing a good job."
