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Coach fired for team's poor performance
PARIS (AP) -- The Tunisian soccer team made it official today: Henri Kasperczak is out as the national coach following losses to England and Colombia that left the team with no chance to advance in the World Cup.The confirmation from team officials came one day before Tunisia's final World Cup match against Romania in Group G. French organizers of the tournament had reported Kasperczak's dismissal on Tuesday, following the 1-0 loss to Colombia a day earlier.
Ali el-Selmi, the former assistant, confirmed today that he had been appointed the new head coach. But he declined to elaborate on the shakeup.
Kasperczak, a Pole who had been coaching Tunisia for 3 1-2 years, was the third coach to be dismissed following disappointing performances at this World Cup. Carlos Alberto Parreira, a Brazilian, was ousted last week as coach of Saudi Arabia. Over the weekend, South Korea fired Cha Bum-kun after his team also failed to reach the second round.
Kasperczak's downfall was the result of differences over strategy that emerged during the England-Tunisia game June 15, which England won 2-0.
Kasperczak instructed his team to emphasize defensive tactics. Several players questioned his plan and urged an attacking game, team sources said.
Kasperczak had led Tunisia to victory in five of six World Cup qualification matches. Before taking the Tunisian job in 1995, he coached the Ivory Coast to third place in the 1994 African Nations Cup.
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GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan