The Tunisia National Team arrived in Japan on Saturday, 14 October ahead of their clash with the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) in the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2023 at the Noevir Stadium in Kobe on Tuesday, 17 October.

The team arrived at Kansai International Airport on the 14th before being transferred to Kobe. Training began the following afternoon as the team prepares for the match.

The KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2023 match between the SAMURAI BLUE and the Tunisia National Team is scheduled to kick-off at 19:14 on Tuesday, 17 October.

Coach and Players' Comments

Jalel KADRI, Head Coach of Tunisia National Team
We were well welcomed in Japan, and we were accommodated in a very nice hotel, but the training site for today’s training was a bit far away, so it was unexpected that we had to spend a total of four hours to get there and train. There is also an eight-hour time difference with Tunisia, which still has a significant effect on our physical condition. Although there is no time difference between Korea Republic and Japan, we left the hotel the morning after the first match and arrived at the hotel in the evening after a two-hour flight, which is not a desirable situation, but we will try to prepare ourselves as much as possible before the match. We were well prepared for last year's Kirin Cup, having held a week-long pre-camp and played two matches. This time we were unable to hold a training camp in advance and the players joined the tour directly from their respective clubs, which made it difficult to coordinate the team's activities. We won the Kirin Cup then, but that was in the past and the situation is completely different now. It was held in June, just after the Africa Cup of Nations, with the World Cup on the horizon, and most importantly, Japan are a completely different team from last year. We will do our best to prepare ourselves for the match.

Oussama HADADI (Greuther Furth/Germany)
This is my second time in Japan, but I find it a very beautiful country with friendly people and a very different culture to ours. We are expecting a very difficult game, but we hope to put on a spectacular match for the Japanese fans to enjoy.

Issam JEBALI (Gamba Osaka/Japan)
It has been almost a year since I came to Japan, and I really like the culture here. I am sure it will be a very difficult match for both sides. Japan have been in great form of late, but we are also aware of what we are capable of and how good we are. We weren’t able to show our true form against Korea Republic, so we want to display a better game this time around.

Hannibal MEJBRI (Manchester United/England)
Japan is one of my favourite countries and this is not my first time here. The people are very hardworking, clean and respectful of others. The Japan National Team is a spectacular team with great quality, and I am looking forward to playing against them. We hope it will be a great match with no injuries.

Fixture: SAMURAI BLUE vs Tunisia National Team
Date: Tue. 17 October 2023, 19:10
Venue: Noevir Stadium Kobe (Hyogo)
Match Information

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