FIFA World Cup 2018: Organizing body denies Tunisia's request for replacement keeper, Africans enlist striker Fakhreddine Youssef as back-up
Tunisia will field a striker as their back-up keeper after injuries to their first and second choice keeper have left them without a replacement in their last World Cup match against Panama.
Saransk: Tunisia will start third-choice goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi and have striker Fakhreddine Ben Youssef act as his back-up in their final World Cup game against Panama on Thursday after FIFA rejected their request to add a replacement keeper to the squad.
Tunisian goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi was initially intended to be third choice, but will start the match against Panama. AFP
Tunisia’s first and second choice keepers are unavailable after picking up injuries at the tournament and they flew Moez Ben Cherifia from champions Esperance to Moscow on Wednesday in the hope he might be allowed to be included in the squad.
However, the Tunisian Football Federation said on Thursday that this request had been rejected by FIFA and they would have to use the players currently in the squad. Tunisia lost first-choice goalkeeper Mouez Hassen after just 16 minutes of their first game against England when he injured his shoulder in a collision with Jesse Lingard.
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Farouk Ben Mustapha took his place in the 2-1 defeat in Volgograd and also played in the 5-2 loss to Belgium in Moscow before suffering knee ligament damage in training on Tuesday.
FIFA allow injury replacements in the World Cup only up until 24 hours before a team’s first game.
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