Tunisia's 'Sassi' moment at the World Cup

Ferjani Sassi was the lone scorer for Tunisia as he calmly buried his penalty past a diving Jordan Pickford to equalise for Tunisia in the 35th minute in its Group G clash against England on Monday.

Published : Jun 19, 2018 01:27 IST

Ferjani Sassi scores against England on Monday.

Ferjani Sassi couldn't have chosen a better day to score his first World Cup goal for Tunisia. The stylish midfielder calmly buried his penalty past a diving Jordan Pickford to equalise for Tunisia in the 35th minute in its Group G clash on Monday. The goal was also the first one scored by an African nation at the 2018 World Cup thus far.

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The obvious question arises, who is Sassi? The 26-year-old midfielder began his career at home with CS Sfaxien, where he enjoyed a five-year stint and was also part of the Tunisian League winning team in 2013.

Looking for greener pastures, Sassi then moved to French side FC Metz to play in the Ligue 1. His stay at France lasted only a year and he returned to Tunisia the following year to join ES Tunis. It was here that Sassi enjoyed the most success in his club career. 

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He was part of three title-winning sides at ES Tunis in as many years, winning the Tunisian Cup in 2016, and the Tunisian League in 2017 and 2018.

Earlier this year, Sassi was roped in by Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr for a fee estimated to be £1.8 million.