26/01/2008 21:45

Tamale, Ghana - Tunisia coach Roger Lemerre is excited about facing South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira on Sunday in the African Cup of Nations - a match which pits a European champion against a World Cup winner.

Parreira guided Brazil to their fourth World Cup title in 1994, and to the quarter-finals at the 2006 World Cup.

Lemerre was at the helm when France won the 2000 European Championship, and has been in charge of Tunisia since November 2002.

With both teams level after drawing their first Group D games, whoever wins Sunday's match in Tamale, northern Ghana, will take a big step toward the quarter-finals.

Lemerre expects South Africa to make life tough for the Carthage Eagles.

"With Parreira as coach they have an added bonus, because he is someone who knows the highest level," Lemerre said on Saturday. "Parreira has not known defeat much."

Parreira also took charge of Kuwait at the 1982 World Cup, United Arab Emirates for the 1990 World Cup, and Saudi Arabia in 2002.

Lemerre has largely rebuilt his side from the one which won the African Cup in 2004, which made him the first coach to win international titles on two continents.

Both outsiders

"The advantage of having a young team is that they look forward to the challenge," Lemerre said.

The Carthage Eagles and Bafana Bafana are both outsiders to win in Ghana, but Lemerre believes he and Parreira are both thinking ahead to the 2010 World Cup.

"It's a good idea to have young players who we will see again in two years," Lemerre said. "There are many similarities in terms of the technical qualities of the players and the fact both are quite new teams."

Lemerre must first focus on getting his team out of his group, with all four teams locked on one point.

Tunisia needed a late equalizer to hold Senegal to a 2-2 draw on Wednesday, while South Africa levelled in the 87th minute of a tough contest against Angola, which ended 1-1.

"For us and South Africa it is a match we need to win. In both camps we are thinking the same thing," Lemerre said, adding there is "a little bit more stress."

Lemerre has no injury worries, but the form of striker Francileudo Santos is in question.

Santos has started only one league game for Toulouse this season and looked totally off the pace against Senegal.

Lemerre defended the striker, who was the star of Tunisia's 2004 campaign.

"There is always competition for places at the highest level in Europe," Lemerre said. "But every time he played for Toulouse he showed his quality."

Tunisia's Bayer Leverkusen defender Karim Haggui is looking forward to facing veteran South Africa forward Sibusiso Zuma, who plays for Bundesliga rival Arminia Bielefeld.

"He is a good player, he is quick, he has experience," Haggui said. "I just hope he doesn't score against us."