Hannibal celebrates first trophy with Tunisia

Wednesday 15 June 2022 12:07

Manchester United youngster Hannibal celebrated his first trophy as a senior international player with Tunisia on Tuesday.

The Carthage Eagles lifted the 2022 Kirin Cup in Japan following a 3-0 victory over the hosts in the final at the Panasonic Stadium Suita in Osaka. 

Our young Red came on in the 77th minute and helped his side over the line in a contest that was decided by three second-half goals.
Hannibal showcases the silverware alongside team-mates Mohamed Firas Ben Arbi and Issam Jebali.

Hannibal has since posted on Instagram to reflect on his latest invaluable experience. 

He published a picture of the post-match celebrations on his account, accompanied by the caption: “First trophy of my career with the national team, more to come.” 

It has been quite the 12 months or so for the 19-year-old, who made his international debut just over a year ago, against DR Congo. 

Since then, the midfielder has earned 16 caps in total, gaining regular minutes on his nation’s run to the Arab Cup final before playing at his first Africa Cup of Nations in January. 

In the spring, Hannibal was also in the Tunisia squad that defeated Mali in a two-legged World Cup qualifier to advance to this winter’s tournament.

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After booking their ticket to Qatar in March, the Tunisian team have since reunited this month and been able to begin their preparations for the competition. 

Jalel Kadri’s side faced Equatorial Guinea (4-0 win) and Botswana (0-0 draw) in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers before flying out to Asia for the Kirin Cup four-team knockout tournament. 

Tunisia defeated Chile 2-0 in the semi-final on Friday, of which Hannibal was also a late substitute, before overcoming fellow World Cup qualifiers Japan on Tuesday. The hosts had beaten Ghana at the previous stage. 

Hannibal made his first Premier League start on United's final-day trip to Crystal Palace in May.
The Carthage Eagles have two more AFCON qualification matches to come, both against Libya, in September before their attentions will turn to the World Cup’s Group D, where they will face France, Denmark and Australia.

And our young midfielder will no doubt be hoping to add to his growing collection of international experience at the tournament, when it comes around later this year.

Congratulations on your most recent success, Hannibal! 

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