'Hurts deeply' - Sheffield Wednesday defender Yan Valery reflects on early World Cup exit
Tunisia crashed out of the World Cup at the group stage after losing each of their three matches, conceding 12 goals.
Sheffield Wednesday defender Yan Valery has said Tunisia’s premature exit from the World Cup ‘hurts deeply’, admitting it is down to him and his teammates to bounce back as quickly as possible.
The Eagles of Carthage exited the tournament last weekend after losing 4-0 to Japan in their second Group F outing. They lost 5-1 to Sweden in their tournament opener just under a week earlier, resulting in head coach Sabri Lamouchi being sacked.
Experienced World Cup boss Hervé Renard replaced the former Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City boss ahead of the clash with Japan, but his appointment failed to have the desired impact, meaning they were eliminated before their final group game against the Netherlands.
Facing Ronald Koeman’s side in Kansas, Tunisia shipped another three goals, losing 3-1, meaning they exited the competition having conceded 12 goals in three games and scoring only twice. They have never made it out of the World Cup group stage in seven attempts.
With this summer’s World Cup marking the first of Valery’s career, the Wednesday right-back, of course, had ambitions of enjoying a long and successful summer on the other side of the Atlantic. Instead, his dream has come to an end at the first hurdle.
Although Tunisia found themselves in a tough group, competing against the Netherlands, Sweden and Japan, Valery is understandably disappointed by his and his teammates’ early exit.
Posting on Instagram, Valery said: “Two years of sacrifices and hard work to qualify for this competition, only to fail in this way, hurts deeply... But giving up is not an option.
“We have to react very quickly and get back to work in every possible area, starting with us, the players. Thank you to everyone who has supported us despite everything and continues to support us.
“God willing, Tunisia will come back stronger on every level.”
Valery, who is expected to leave Wednesday in this summer’s transfer window, started each of Tunisia’s three matches at the tournament, completing the full 90 minutes in the defeats to Japan and the Netherlands respectively.