Khazri has something to prove in Russia

Khazri, unlike most members of the North African squad, has played in the English Premier League. As a striker for Sunderland for two seasons, he rubbed shoulders with players such as England’s Harry Kane and Belgium’s Vincent Kompany. 

The 27-year-old, shaven-headed forward was once rumoured to be in the sights of Europe’s biggest clubs and he hit the headlines when he hammered home a spectacular volley against Chelsea in 2016, having scored against Manchester United in the same year. But he was increasingly left unused on the substitutes’ bench by Sunderland, a far cry from his strong form in France with Bastia and Bordeaux.

He bagged three goals in total for Sunderland which, after relegation from the top flight in 2017, loaned him to Rennes of France for most of the 2017-18 campaign. Again, Khazri started strongly for his new club, scoring on his debut against Olympique de Marseille with a deft back-heel.

But despite claiming the only goal in Tunisia’s 1-0 friendly win over Costa Rica in March, Khazri has recently endured another goal drought in France and has not scored for Rennes since March 3. The pressure on him will be all the greater due to the loss of Tunisia’s stand-out playmaker Youssef Msakni due to injury.