Upon returning to Lennoxtown this week, Seb Tounekti found himself to be a man in demand. It’s a situation which is unlikely to change as the World Cup draws nearer.
The international break took the Tunisian across the Atlantic to Toronto, where his nation faced Haiti then one of this summer’s co-hosts, Canada.
Not only did the winger gain an insight into the opponent Scotland will face in their Group C opener in Boston, he registered his first international goal against them to secure a morale-boosting win.
For the likes of Kieran Tierney and Tony Ralston, this first-hand experience of facing the Caribbean nation was pure gold. And while the initial debrief back at Celtic’s training ground contained a warning that Steve Clarke’s side are about to face a talented side, Tounekti saw no grounds to suggest Scotland cannot get off to a winning start.
‘They asked a little bit today,’ said Tounekti. ‘They wanted to know how they were and I told them they are a side who play some good football.
‘When you go to the World Cup, everybody can beat everybody. They are a really good team. They have picked up some new players recently. They are a lot stronger now than they were some months ago.
Tounekti plays his part for Tunisia against Scotland’s World Cup opponents, Haiti, in a friendly
‘They played some really good football. But Scotland have a great chance to win against them.’
With the curtain coming up on the greatest show on earth on June 11, Tounekti’s first international goal could not have come at a better time. With friendlies against Austria and Belgium yet to come, the Celtic man looks set to make manager Sabri Lamouchi’s 26-man squad.
‘You can imagine it was a special moment for me,’ he recalled. ‘I have played a few games now and been waiting on my first goal. The timing wasn’t bad.
‘It’s always great to get your first goal — the celebration was good. It was special for me and my family.’
Tunisia made short work of qualifying, drawing just one of their 10 matches in CAF Group A.
As if the prospect of facing Daizen Maeda’s Japan and the Netherlands wasn’t exciting enough, Tounekti is now contemplating the prospect of tackling Benjamin Nygren’s Sweden in Group F following their incredible last gasp win over Poland.
‘I was really happy for Benjy and Sweden that they came through,’ he said. ‘It will be a special moment to play against him in our opening game.
‘Me and Benjy are really close. It’s going to be fun to play against him. We know each other really well. We have a life which is really busy with training and games, but we try to do something together if we have time off.
‘He has been important for us this season and also for Sweden. He provides assists and goals almost every game.
‘He is in great shape, great form and will be really important for us in the next games. I hope he can keep up his form.
‘Playing Japan will also be amazing. They will be really strong. They are maybe underdogs, but they are one of the nations which can do really well.
The winger is back in Scotland and is passing on what he learned to his Celtic team-mates
‘I saw a bit of them against Scotland and England. They are a really great side with lots of pace up top and lots of great players. They can do really well. But they have a hard group.’
As well as Alistair Johnston’s Canada, who Tunisia drew 0-0 with, Celtic supporters will also have an interest in how Auston Trusty and Yang Hyun-jun fare with the USA and South Korea, respectively.
Tounekti feels this strong representation reflects well on the platform Celtic offer.
‘If you play for a club like Celtic, you have a great chance to represent your nation,’ he said. ‘To have so many players involved in a massive summer is great for everybody.
‘Everybody is looking forward to it — but there are still some months to go. We have so many important matches here that it’s difficult to focus on it now.’
For all concerned, much water will flow under the bridge at club level before then. A loss a Tannadice prior to the international break was the third time Celtic suffered a defeat on Tayside this season, with a different manager at the helm on each occasion.
Having slipped and stumbled to eight league defeats to date, the prospect of chalking up another one doesn’t bear thinking about.
‘They have shown through the whole season that they’re a great side,’ said Tounekti of Steven Pressley’s side.
‘We played them at home in the cup and they did really well. We have a lot of respect for them. We know we have to be at our best to get three points. We have to get together now and I feel the group is really strong. We have to keep going.
‘It’s a massive game. It’s tight at the top. It’s not so smart of us to try to think about Hearts or Rangers. We just have to try to focus on ourselves. We have to go out there and play our best football. We know if we play our best football, we have a massive chance to take the three points. That’s the goal.
‘We have many important matches now, but Sunday is the most important one. Going out and getting three points is the most important thing.’
