"Poland was obviously better than Mexico. They had great players like Lato, Zbigniew Boniek and Deyna.
"But we played really well and should have won. We missed about four or five chances."
In order to advance to the next round, a victory over West Germany, the defending champions, was a must.
Tunisia only managed a 0-0 draw but Dhiab insists that the scoreline was a moral victory for Africa.
"Germany was a great side. They had underlined their strength by beating Mexico 6-0.
"But they found us a hard nut to crack. We outclassed them and could have won.
"Though we could not go through, we went home happy.
"It was due to our performance that Africa earned a second World Cup place in 1982," Dhiab believes.
The tournament was a prelude to the strides that the African game would make in subsequent tournaments.