Tunisia's first match after independence was againstLibya, which they won 4–2. The team qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in1978 as the only representative of the continent, and became the first African and Arab team to win a World Cup match by beatingMexico3–1 in the first game. Tunisia holds the most consecutive appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations, with 17, qualifying for every tournament between1994 and2025. By winning the2004 African Cup of Nations, they qualified for the2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and was eliminated in the group stage. The team qualified twice for theAfrican Nations Championship, winning the title in their first appearance in2011, while also competing in theFIFA Arab Cup three times, winning the title in the inaugural edition in1963 and finishing second in2021.Radhi Jaïdi, with 105 international matches, holds the record for the number of matches played for Tunisia whileIssam Jemâa, with36 goals, is their all-time highest scorer. Their highest-everFIFA Men's World Ranking was 14th in April and May 2018, while their lowest rank was 65th in July 2010.[4]
On 13 October 2025, Tunisia became the first team in history to qualify for the World Cup without conceding a goal, during the2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Before independence, an unofficial team was formed in 1928, comprising the best Tunisian players from theTunisian League. The team's first match was on 11 March 1928, against theFrance national football B team; Tunisia lost 8–2.[5] Their next friendlies, against the same team on 23 March 1930 and 26 March 1933, also resulted in heavy defeats: 0–5 and 1–6 respectively.
Tunisia had to wait until 1932 for their first match win: a 1–0 victory overFrench Algeria.[6] Most of the matches that Tunisia played in the 30s and 40s were against French teams, whether it was French Algeria, theFrench military team or the France B team, in addition to a match against theFrance national team in 1941. Most of these matches were played at theStade Vélodrome inTunis.
1956–1962: Post independence, First international participation
Tunisia gainedindependence from France on 20 March 1956. TheTunisian Football Federation was founded on 29 March 1957 and the Tunisian team played a match with Austrian clubFC Admira Wacker Mödling on 30 December of the same year, winning 4–1. Tunisia became affiliated withFIFA and theConfederation of African Football in 1960. The independent Tunisia played their first match againstAlgeria on 1 June 1957, in the midst of theAlgerian War, in which Tunisia lost 2–1. They played their first official match at the1957 Arab Games where they won againstLibya 4–3 after scoring the first Tunisian goal in an official competition byFarzit [fr]. They won againstIraq 4–2 andLebanon 4–2 before losing in the final againstSyria 3–1. In 1960, YugoslavianMilan Kristić became the first foreign manager. The national team qualified for the1960 Summer Olympics, their first international event after beatingMalta,Morocco andSudan. In the Olympic Games, the team suffered three defeats: againstPoland 6–1,Argentina 2–1, andDenmark 3–1.Frane Matošić was appointed as the second Yugoslav coach of Tunisia after Kristić led Tunisia to qualify for the Olympics.
1962–1978: Golden generation, First World Cup participation
In 1962, Tunisia entered theAfrican Cup of Nations qualifiers for the first time. The team qualified for the tournament after beatingMorocco andNigeria, and went on to finish third after beatingUganda in the third-place match. The team won the1963 Arab Cup, after winning against Syria,Jordan, Lebanon, andKuwait. Tunisia also qualified for the1963 Africa Cup of Nations, andCAF decided that Tunisia would host the1965 AFCON, making the final after beatingEthiopia 4–0 in the opening match inStade Chedly Zouiten,[7] losing 3–2 toGhana in extra-time of the final.[8] Despite this early success, Tunisia did not enter the Cup of Nations again until 1976, and did not qualify until 1978. In 1973, the team entered thePalestine Cup of Nations and won in dominant fashion, winning all six of their matches overcoming Syria,Egypt,Palestine,Yemen and Iraq, scoring 19 goals. In February 1975, after a short stint with Hungarian managerAndré Nagy,Abdelmajid Chetali was hired. Tunisia qualified for theirFIFA World Cup debut in1978. Tunisia defeated Mexico 3–1,[9] but were defeated byPoland 1–0,[10] and drew scoreless against defending championWest Germany.
1978–1994: Decline and Missing six editions of the AFCON
After their inaugural World Cup, Tunisia experienced a decline. Between 1980 and 1992, the team managed to qualify for only two tournaments: the1982 African Cup of Nations, and the1988 Summer Olympics. In both, they were knocked out in the first round. They, however, reached the last round of the1986 World Cup qualifiers by beating Nigeria before being defeated byAlgeria. FormerCameroon managerJean Vincent was hired but the team was unable to qualify for the1988 African Cup in Morocco after a defeat against Algeria.
The team experienced poor results in theAfrican Games with defeats against Cameroon,Madagascar andKenya.Taoufik Ben Othman, assistant manager in 1978,[11] improved Tunisia's results, as they qualified for the Olympic Games after surpassingMorocco andEgypt in the qualifiers. However, he was removed days before the start of the competition after poor results in the1988 Arab Cup and failure to win in their matches againstSaudi Arabia,[12] Lebanon,[13] Egypt[14] and Iraq,[15] as well as friendlies againstMalta,Finland and East Germany. Polish managerAntoni Piechniczek was temporarily appointed and supervised the team in the first round of 1990 World Cup qualifiers and also in the finals of the Olympic Games; in the latter, Tunisia tiedChina 0–0[16] andSweden 2–2[17] and lost toWest Germany 4–1.[18]Mokhtar Tlili was appointed manager, however, he still missed theAfrican Cup in 1990 after a defeat to Senegal. Piechniczek returned but still failed to qualify for the 1990 World Cup.[needs context] Despite missing the1992 African Cup, the federation renewed confidence in him because of the respectable performance he had given in the qualifiers; an early exit from the World Cup qualifiers for1994 contributed to his dismissal after a draw with Morocco.[needs context]Youssef Zouaoui replaced him; Tunisia hosted the 1994 African Cup of Nations replacing original hostsZaire, but finished at the bottom of the group, after a 2–0 loss to Mali[19] and a draw with Zaire.[20]
1994–2002: Beginning of Resurgence, 1996 AFCON runners-up
Henryk Kasperczak became the new manager after Tunisia hosted the 1994 African Cup of Nations. Tunisia qualified for the1996 AFCON and finished second in their group, putting them through to the quarter-finals. Tunisia went on to beatGabon in the quarter-finals andZambia in the semi-finals,[21][22] to reach their first major final in 31 years, but lost to host countrySouth Africa 2–0.[23] Tunisia reached the quarter-finals of the1998 African Cup of Nations in the lead of the group with a win overDR Congo,[24]Togo and a defeat fromGhana,[25][26] where they were eliminated in a penalty shootout by host countryBurkina Faso.[27] The team also qualified forthat year's World Cup after a 20-year absence: they again failed to advance from the group stages, losing 2–0 toEngland and 1–0 toColombia,[28][29] and drawing 1–1 withRomania.[30] Kasperczak was sacked and replaced withFrancesco Scoglio, who guided the team to the2000 African Cup of Nations, where they finished in fourth place after losing toCameroon in the semi-finals.[31] The following year, Scoglio departed to rejoinGenoa CFC, sparking a period of severe instability.Eckhard Krautzun initially took over and guided the team to a secondWorld Cup appearance, but then resigned, citing interference from theTunisian FA with his coaching.Henri Michel replaced him, but was sacked when Tunisia crashed out of the2002 African Cup of Nations without scoring a single goal after scoreless draws withSenegal and Zambia and a defeat from Egypt. Finally,Ammar Souayah took over in time for the 2002 World Cup; the team drew in friendlies with Norway and South Korea and were defeated by Denmark and Slovenia. In the finals, Tunisia exited the tournament in the group stage, drawing 1–1 withBelgium, losing 2–0 toRussia and co-hostsJapan,[32][33][34] prompting a search for a new manager.[35][36][37]
2002–2008: Roger Lemerre era, 2004 AFCON champions
In September 2002, theTunisian Football Federation announced that it was finalizing a contract with former France managerRoger Lemerre. Tunisia hosted the2004 African Cup of Nations, winning the group.[38] They defeated Senegal in the quarter-finals,[39] and Nigeria in the semi-finals. Tunisia built a 1–0 lead after four minutes withMehdi Nafti's concentration pushed byFrancileudo Santos, before Morocco levelled. Tunisia restored their lead,[40] giving them their firstAfrican Cup of Nations title. They also won the CAF's African National Team of the Year award. Lemerre became the first manager to win two different continental tournaments, having previously wonEuro 2000 with France. As a result, Tunisia qualified for the2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany, playing the hosts,Argentina andAustralia. The only points they would win was a victory over Australia.[41][42][43] Before their 2006 World Cup appearance, Lemerre took the Tunisians to a training camp in Switzerland, where they played international friendlies against Swiss clubs. Tunisia would only record one draw in Germany, against Saudi Arabia, losing againstSpain andUkraine.[44]Hatem Trabelsi announced his retirement from international football after eight years,[45][46] and Lemerre led Tunisia to the 2008 African Cup of Nations. Tunisia won their 2008 AFCON group after a draw in the opening match against Senegal 2–2, a 3–1 victory over South Africa, and a goalless draw against Angola. They then lost againstCameroon 3–2 in extra time.[47]
2008–2014: Disappointments and missing the World Cup
PortugueseHumberto Coelho was appointed as the new manager on 3 June 2008. Coelho would fail to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.Faouzi Benzarti was appointed as the new manager, and was also sacked after Tunisia were eliminated from the group stage in the2010 Africa Cup of Nations. In June 2010,Bertrand Marchand was appointed manager for a two-year contract. After a series of horrendous results, Tunisia fell to 65th in theFIFA World Rankings, the worst in its history.Sami Trabelsi was appointed, and the team qualified for the2012 Africa Cup of Nations, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a defeat byGhana.
In the2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Tunisia snatched a late winner againstAlgeria, before a defeat byIvory Coast, 3–0. The last match ended with a 1–1 draw againstTogo. In February 2013,Nabil Maâloul replaced Sami Trabelsi; in their first two2014 World Cup qualification matches, Tunisia beat Sierra Leone 2–1 and clinched a 2–2 draw inFreetown. On 16 June, during the fifth round of the group stage, Tunisia tied 1–1 against Equatorial Guinea. A 2–0 loss to Cape Verde on 7 September all but eliminated Tunisia; however, Tunisia advanced after FIFA disqualified Cape Verde for cheating. They would then be knocked out by Cameroon.
2014–2022: Renaissance and two World Cup participations
Belgian managerGeorges Leekens was appointed in early 2014; early results included a 1–1 draw againstColombia and a 1–0 win overSouth Korea,[48][49] both in friendly matches. Under Leekens, the team climbed from 49th to 22nd in the FIFA rankings. Tunisia qualified for the2015 African Cup of Nations, and topped their group for the first time since 2008, winning againstZambia and drawing withCape Verde andDR Congo.[50][51][52] They were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a defeat to hostEquatorial Guinea.[53] In July 2015,Henryk Kasperczak returned as manager after 17 years. He managed to qualify the team for the2017 African Cup, and reached the quarter-finals of the competition after beating Algeria andZimbabwe,[54][55] before losing againstBurkina Faso.[56]
On 27 April 2017,Nabil Maâloul returned as manager despite the disapproval of the Tunisian supporters following the failure at the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, but this time he qualified Tunisia for the2018 World Cup in Russia. Tunisia's qualification for the World Cup and its results in friendlies againstIran andCosta Rica,[57] led to its rise to 14th place in theFIFA World Rankings, their best ever. Before the World Cup, Tunisia drew withTurkey andPortugal,[58] in addition to a narrow defeat against Spain 1–0.[59] Despite this, in the World Cup, Tunisia were once again eliminated from the group stage. In the first match,[60]England won 2–1.[61]Belgium defeated the North Africans 5–2,[62] and in Tunisia's last game againstPanama,[63] the Arab nation won 2–1.[64][65] Tunisia qualified for the2019 Africa Cup of Nations with new managerAlain Giresse; the new manager would only record three ties, againstAngola,Mali, andMauritania to qualify for the round 16. They eventually would win againstGhana, andMadagascar 3–0 in the quarter-finals, to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time in 15 years, losing toSenegal 1–0 in extra time. In September 2021, the national team began its2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with three consecutive victories against Equatorial Guinea, Zambia,[66] and Mauritania; they would then draw Mauritania 0–0 and lose against Equatorial Guinea 1–0, to advance for thethird round on the top ofthe group.[67][68]
Qatar hosted the2021 FIFA Arab Cup; Tunisia started with a 5–1 win against Mauritania.[69] They then suffered an unexpected defeat toSyria,[70] before winning against theUnited Arab Emirates.[71] In the quarter-finals Tunisia won againstOman 2–1, and scored a 95th minute winner against Egypt in the semi-finals.[72] Tunisia facedAlgeria in the final, losing 2–0.[73] The2021 Africa Cup of Nations was postponed to early 2022; in the group stage, Tunisia began with a 1–0 defeat againstMali, with Zambian refereeJanny Sikazwe ending the match in the 85th minute.[74][75] In the second match, the team achieved a 4–0 victory over Mauritania,[76] and lost againstGambia in the last group match. Tunisia defeatedNigeria in the round of 16, and were eliminated by Burkina Faso.[77][78]
In March, Tunisia qualified for their sixth World Cup, the2022 tournament in Qatar, the first hosted by an Arab nation, after beating Mali 1–0 on aggregate, taking revenge for the earlier loss in the AFCON.[79] They then defeatedChile andJapan to win the2022 Kirin Cup Soccer title for the first time,[80][81] andFerjani Sassi was named the best player of the tournament while his compatriotIssam Jebali finished as the top scorer with two goals.[82] Tunisia played two pre-World Cup friendlies in France in September 2022, defeating Comoros 1−0 inCroissy-sur-Seine[83] and losing 5−1 to Brazil at theParc des Princes in Paris.[84] With the exception of Brazil, Tunisia's relatively good forms increased confidence on the side to break the knockout stage taboo as Tunisia found themselves grouped with world championsFrance, European dark horseDenmark and Asian minnowsAustralia.[85] InGroup D, Tunisia drew Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark 0−0 in a rather decent display by the African side.[86] But a 0−1 loss against Australia followed, severely hampering Tunisia's odds to progress. A 1−0 victory over France courtesy of a goal fromWahbi Khazri was not enough to seal Tunisia's place in the last 16 as Australia'sMathew Leckie goal against Denmark meant the Asian representative placed second.[87][88]
After the World Cup, the federation rejected Kadri's resignation and extended his contract until 2024.[89][90] The team topped their2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification group after defeatingLibya twice,Botswana 3–0, and a loss againstEquatorial Guinea 0–1. The team's performances began to decline, especially after theTunisian Football Federation president, Wadie Jary, was imprisoned after accusations of financial corruption were proven.[91] On 17 November 2023, the team started2026 FIFA World Cup qualification with two victories againstSão Tomé and Príncipe 4–0 andMalawi 1–0.[92][93] At the2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Tunisia was drawn alongsideMali,Namibia andSouth Africa.[94] The team endured a poor performance at the tournament, as they lost to Namibia 0–1, before drawing their latter group matches against Mali 1–1 and South Africa 0–0, being eliminated from the group stage. Kadri was dismissed andMontasser Louhichi was appointed in his place temporarily. In March, the team participated in the Egyptian Capital Cup, a friendly tournament affiliated with the2024 FIFA Series.[95] The team played in the semi-final againstCroatia and, after a 0–0 draw, lost on penalties 4–5.[96] In the third-place match, the team facedNew Zealand; the match also ended 0–0, which ended with a 4–2 penalty shootout victory and a third-place finish for Tunisia.[97] Louhichi continued to lead the team in the third and fourth rounds of the World Cup qualifiers.[98] On 1 July,Faouzi Benzarti was appointed coach for the fourth time.[99] Under Benzarti's leadership, the team started2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification with two wins againstMadagascar 1–0 andGambia 2–1.[100][101] Tunisia then suffered a defeat at home againstComoros 0–1 and drew them away 1–1,[102][103] prompting Benzati's resignation before being replaced byKais Yaâkoubi, who led Tunisia to the AFCON.
On 10 February 2025,Sami Trabelsi returned to the team as coach twelve years after his departure, leading the team to qualifying for the2026 FIFA World Cup.[104][105] On 13 October 2025, Tunisia became the first team in history to qualify for the World Cup without conceding a goal, during the2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.[106][107]
Egypt and Tunisia have met 35 times in both official and friendly matches. Tunisia have won 16 matches against Egypt's 11, while 8 matches have ended in a draw.[115]
Tunisia's FIFA ranking has ranged from 65th in July 2010 to 14th in April 2018. Continentally, they were the top African team in theFIFA world rankings between July 2001 and January 2002, and between January and December 2018. They were outside the top 10 African teams between July and August 2010. Below is a graph of Tunisia's FIFA rankings since 1993.[233]
^Tunisia qualified againstLibya after winning two matches in thequalifiers, back 1–0 and 1–2, and due to the delay in the start of the session from January to April, the candidacy was withdrawn from theTunisian Football Federation on 20 December 2019 due to the pressure of the calendar after consulting with theTunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 clubs.[183]
^FIFA awarded Tunisia a 3–0 win as a result of Cape Verde fielding the playerFernando Varela, who had been sent off in the match againstEquatorial Guinea on 24 March 2013. As a result of his sending off for unsporting conduct towards a match official, Varela had been given a four match suspension and would miss the rest of the qualifying campaign plus one further FIFA game. Varela did not participate in the games against Equatorial Guinea on 8 June 2013 or the game against Sierra Leone on 16 June 2013. Complicating matters, Varela's red card against Equatorial Guinea was removed from the FIFA.com website.[231] The match originally ended 2–0 to Cape Verde.[232]
^The two teams play on January 18, 2000 a training match, three halves of 35 minutes, won by Ghana 2–0 but which can not be considered a real international match.
^America, Mohamed Ben Romdhane scored in added time to give Tunisia a 1-0 win in Equatorial Guinea on Monday and qualification for the 2026 World Cup in North."Tunisia qualify for 2026 World Cup".beIN SPORTS. Retrieved10 September 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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