‘We know this’ – Tunisia's Dutch-born forward aware Super Falcons are perennial Wafcon favourites

Tunisia forward Sabrine Ellouzi has acknowledged the pedigree of the Super Falcons ahead of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Group B opener, describing the Nigeria side as established continental heavyweights.

Born in the Netherlands, the 28-year-old joined AZ Alkmaar last month, following spells with  Excelsior Rotterdam, Feyenoord and Twente.

A forward with UEFA Champions League experience, Ellouzi made an immediate impact on her senior debut for Tunisia, finding the net against Morocco. 

The former Netherlands youth international has since become a key attacking option for the North Africans.

Ellouzi was one of the top scorers in the Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, netting seven goals, just one short of Mali's Agueicha Diarra, who led the charts with eight.

Ellouzi underlined that Tunisia will approach the encounter against the Super Falcons with belief and determination.

In quotes relayed by Nigerian journalist Victor Ademola, she said: "We did a good preparation so I'm confident to play this tournament.

"For sure Nigeria is a strong team, they've won plenty of Wafcons, we know this.

"But it is still football. We are confident we can do something, so we will try our best and try to get the best result we can have, and after 90 minutes plus, we’ll see what we get."

Ellouzi also spoke on the growth and maturity of the current Tunisia squad compared to the team that competed at the 2022 Wafcon in Morocco, where they reached the quarterfinals.

"We have a good group. We are balancing between young players and more experienced players," she explained.

"The difference between the last Wafcon in 2022 and now is that we are more experienced. 

"For me, for example, it was my first Wafcon, now it's my second, so I know about what's happening, and the same goes for other players in the team."

Tunisia have managed just one win from their eight matches at the Wafcon, a 4-1 victory over Togo in their opening game of the 2022 tournament.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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