Tunisia coach Mondher Kebaier has commended his players' performance following the 1-0 win over Nigeria in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Carthage Eagles won the last 16 match on Sunday thanks to a second-half strike by Youssef Msakni.
The North Africans, who failed to impress in the group phase and without a host of players after positive tests for coronavirus, were underdogs against a Super Eagles side brimming with confidence having secured 9 points – the only side to win all three group games in Cameroon
But the 2004 champions emerged victorious in Garoua.
“As we said before, we had prepared well; we had mastered our skills to counter the Nigerian team. We believed in ourselves.
“We had the desire to win and knew we had to put in a lot of effort. We tried to win to score a goal and succeeded in doing that.
“We knew Nigeria had fast wingers and we came up with specific tactics and had to put pressure on the wingers.
“We trusted the group despite the COVID cases. We didn’t need players but competitors. We wish Nigeria well but we deserve to win,” he said.
Tunisia will face Burkina Faso in the last eight on Saturday, 29 January.