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Tunisia coach Renard demands pride in final World Cup outing / Photo: © AFP
Tunisia coach Renard demands pride in final World Cup outing
Tunisia's emergency coach Herve Renard has called on his team to play with "pride and dignity" in their final World Cup match on Thursday after a disastrous campaign.
The much-travelled Frenchman was parachuted in last week after Sabri Lamouchi was fired following the team's 5-1 hammering by Sweden in their opening match in Mexico.
But he was unable to inspire his new side as they collapsed to a 4-0 defeat against Japan, knocking them out of the competition.
Renard, who has managed multiple African teams, must now lift his men as they prepare to face the powerful Netherlands in their final group game in Kansas City.
"Football requires pride even when the situation is difficult," the 57-year-old said at his pre-match press conference at the Arrowhead Stadium on Wednesday.
"You need to be facing these situations with dignity all the way to the end."
Renard said he was "not satisfied" after Tunisia's defeat against Japan, believing he had not got his message across.
"After this match against Japan, what I felt more than anything was a sense of shame towards the Tunisian public, rather than thinking about the future," he said.
"Let's focus on this last match and go out to get something that may seem hard to achieve today, but we have to do it."
Tunisia's collapse has been dramatic after they romped through African qualifying unbeaten, without conceding a single goal.
But they crashed out in the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, which Renard said they had struggled to recover from, while their build-up to the World Cup was rocky.
"I'm considering things from the outside and I would say that there are quality players in the team that we will have to use if we want to start afresh," he said.
"I won't be deciding but after a disappointment there is always something you can learn from."
It is understood that Renard, who managed Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is unlikely to stay with Tunisia after the World Cup but he refused to be drawn on the question when he spoke to reporters.
"We have got the last game to play and then we will have to take stock of the situation," he said.
"I'm open to any decision. I'm ready to listen to the project whatever it is but this is not what I'm here for."
S.Yang--SG
