Calm Confidence and a Century Milestone: Tunisia’s Bold AFCON Opener Shocks Uganda
24 December 2025
Elías Sakhiri celebrates reaching Tunisia's 100th AFCON goal.
Match context
Elías Sakhiri commented on the strong Tunisian start at AFCON 2025, held in Morocco, after Tunisia beat Uganda 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Player quotes
The captain, who scored the opening goal, told BeIN Sports that reaching 100 goals for Tunisia in AFCON is symbolic, and starting well and scoring early was important; overall it was a good match and a positive start.
In terms of hopes to win the title, he said: "Let’s stay calm. This is only the opening game; it was a solid performance and a convincing win, but the rest will be tougher and the opponents stronger. Let’s stay calm and not rush; yes we’re happy but the hardest is yet to come".
Élias Al-Ashouri, who scored a brace in the match, said: "First of all I want to thank my teammates for the hard work and the big effort that helped us achieve this victory".
He added: "And a big thanks to the fans who were there in large numbers despite the rain; we truly hope we’ve made them proud and that this win rewards their confidence and belief in the team amid these cold, rainy conditions".
Punchline 1: If defense is a sniper, Tunisia’s backline just fired a warning shot—onto the scoreboard. Boom, target hit.
Punchline 2: If goals could rain, this match would have needed umbrellas; the scoreline clearly forecast more downpours ahead.
