TheTunisia national football team is the national team that represents Tunisia in men's internationalfootball, since it played its first match on 2 June 1957 againstLibya, which ended with Tunisia winning 4–2. It is a member team of theFIFA internationally and theConfederation of African Football (CAF) on the continent. It is supervised by theTunisian Football Federation, which was established on 29 March 1957, after Tunisia's independence.Sami Trabelsi has been coaching the team since 10 February 2025, accompanied by his assistantHammadi Daou. The Tunisian national team is nicknamed the Eagles ofCarthage,[1] The team's colors are red and white, similar to the colors of theTunisian flag, and its symbol is theBald eagle. There have been periods of regular Tunisian representation at the highest international level: from 1962 to 1978, from 1994 to 2008 and again from 2014 onwards. Most of its matches have been played since 2001 at theHammadi Agrebi Stadium which is located in the city ofRadès, in the southern suburbs of the capital,Tunis. It has a capacity of 60,000.
The Tunisian national team participated in three major football competitions every four years, appeared in the final stages of sixFIFA World Cups and twenty participations in theAfrica Cup of Nations, and participated in four editions of theOlympic football tournaments. Nevertheless, Tunisia created history in the1978 World Cup in Argentina, when it became the first African and Arab team to win a World Cup match by defeatingMexico 3–1 in Tunisia's first match in the competition,[2] and a negative tie with defending championsWest Germany,[3] before being eliminated from the group stage, which led finally to an addition of a second team from Africa in the world Cup. After that, the team has qualified for three consecutive tournaments, in1998,2002 and2006 before returning in2018 and2022. But despite this historical record, Tunisia has never succeeded in qualifying for the second round of the World Cup or the Summer Olympics. In terms of rivalry, the Tunisian national football team plays againstNorth African teams such asEgypt,Morocco, andAlgeria. In fact, the Tunisian national team played with them many matches, whether through friendly matches,World Cup qualifiers,Africa Cup of Nations,African Nations Championship and African Nations Cup qualifiers. Tunisia is one of the most successful national teams in African competitions, having won the Africa Cup of Nations at home in2004,[4] after defeating Morocco inthe final.[5] It also achieved the final in1965 as hosts and1996 in South Africa. And it achieved third place in1962. The Tunisian team also won theAfrican Nations Championship its first participation in2011 that was held in Sudan.[6]
The Tunisian national team is fully recognized by all international sports organizations. In 1960, Tunisia joined theFIFA and theCAF, and joined theUAFA in 1978 and theUNAF in 2005. The biggest loss for the Tunisian team was on 24 July 1960 againstHungary, with a score of 10–1, While the biggest victory was on 12 June 2015 againstDjibouti with a score of8–1.[7]Radhi Jaïdi, with 105 international matches, holds the record for the number of matches played by the Tunisian national team.[8] whileIssam Jemâa, with36 goals, is the top scorer in the history of the selection.[9] The highest rank achieved by the team in theFIFA World Rankings was 14th place in April and May 2018,[10] while the 65th lowest rank was in July 2010.[11] On 17 November 2020, after securing qualification for the2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the Tunisian team has become the most successful African team to qualify for consecutive times in the history of the competition with 17 consecutive participations as it did not miss the tournament since1994, breaking theEgyptian team’s record of 14 consecutive participations.[12]
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.[13] 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.[14] Most of the matches that Tunisia played in the 30s and 40s were against French teams, whether it wasFrench 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.
The most capped players of this period are: Gustave Ducousso 22 caps(Olympique Béja), Gaetano Chiarenza 21 caps (CS Hammam-Lif), Azzopardi 19 caps (Olympique Béja), Larbi Ben Hassine 16 caps (Espérance de Tunis), Rachid Sehili 16 caps (ES Sahel), Mehl 15 caps (Racing Club), Laâroussi Tsouri 15 caps (Espérance de Tunis), Ben Moussa 15 caps (US Tunis), Alaya Douik 14 caps (ES Sahel), Dara 11 caps (Sporting Club Tunis).
As soon as independence was proclaimed in 1956, Tunisian football leaders took the necessary steps to create an exclusively national body to replace the Tunisian Football League (an offshoot of theFrench Football Federation). These steps led to the creation of theTunisian Football Federation (FTF) headed byChedly Zouiten, which was approved on 29 March 1957. Recognized as a public utility, the FTF has since invested in its dual mission of promoting football and managing the national competition as well as the different teams representing Tunisia in international competitions. In spite of that, Tunisia's national team has been set up before independence.
Tunisian coachRachid Turki has been appointed as Tunisia's first coach. A friendly match was held two days before independence, and this was in front of the Southwest French team. Tunisia succeeded in winning the match thanks to the goal of Ghariani. The Tunisian squad was the following: Zine el-Abidine Chennoufi, Sadok Dhaou (then Mohieddine Zeghir), Azaiez Jaballah, Driss Messaoud, Hassen Tasco, Abdou Béji, Ali Hannachi « Haj Ali », Amedée Scorsone, Hédi Braïek,Noureddine Diwa, Khemais Ghariani.The Tunisian team also played a match with the Austrian teamFC Admira Wacker Mödling on 30 December of the same year and managed to win 4–1 thanks to two goals from both Diwa and Braïek and the Tunisian squad was as follows : Mohamed Bennour (then Houcine El Bez), Youssef Sehili, Azaiez Jaballah,Mokhtar Ben Nacef, Mehrez Jelassi, Abdou Béji, Ali Hannachi « Haj Ali », Abderrahman Ben Ezzedine, Hédi Braïek,Noureddine Diwa (then Khemais Ghariani),Hammadi Henia
Tunisia gainedindependence from France on 20 March 1956. TheTunisian Football Federation was founded on 29 March 1957 and became affiliated toFIFA 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; Tunisia lost 2–1. They played their first official match at the1957 Pan Arab Games where they wonLibya 4–3 after scoring the first Tunisian goal in an official competition byFarzit. They also managed to get throughIraq andLebanon before losing in the final againstSyria 3–1. In 1960, theYugoslavianMilan Kristić to be the first foreigner to coach the national team so Tunisia qualified for1960 Summer Olympics which was their first international event after beatingMalta,Morocco andSudan; on 24 July 1960, the team experienced its biggest-ever defeat, losing 10–1 againstHungary. However, less than a month later, on 18 August 1960, Tunisia recorded their biggest-ever win: an 8–1 thumping ofTaiwan. As for the Olympic Games, the results were very poor in the first game and despite the opening of the scoring byKerrit in the third minute, but thePolish team returned in the game and won 6–1. They also lost toArgentina 2–1 before being defeated again, this time againstDenmark 3–1.
Frane Matošić was appointed to coach the team as the second Yugoslav coach of the Tunisian team after Kristić led Tunisia to qualify for the Olympics. In 1962, Tunisia entered theAfrican Cup of Nations qualifiers for the first time: the team qualified for the tournament after overcomingMorocco andNigeria and went on to finish third after beatingUganda in the third-place match. Tunisian federation has appointed French coachAndré Gérard to train the team to continue contracting with foreign coaches. The team succeeded in crowning the1963 Arab Cup to be the first championship for the team, after achieving impressive results, including winning over Syria,Jordan, Lebanon andKuwait.
Tunisia also qualified for the1963 Africa Cup of Nations despite the exit from the first round.CAF decided that Tunisia would host the1965 Africa Cup of Nations, despite the fact that only 9 years have passed since the independence of the country, in addition to a distinguished generation of players, most notablyAbdelmajid Chetali andAttouga who reached the final after beatingEthiopia 4–0 in the opening match inStade Chedly Zouiten,[15] but they lost 3–2 toGhana in extra-time of the final.[16] Despite this early success, Tunisia did not enter the Cup of Nations again until1976 in Ethiopia, and did not qualify for one until 1978. In 1973, however, 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, and conceding only three with the Tunisian coachAmeur Hizem.
In February 1975, after a short experience of the Hungarian coachAndré Nagy, the coach ofES Sahel,Abdelmajid Chetali was hired. This coincided with the return of the team to the competition in the African Cup of Nations before going out againstSudan before it succeeded to qualify after the absence of 13 years in 1978 after overcomingEgypt andGuinea in qualifying. At the same time, the team was able to qualify for the first time in theFIFA World Cup in1978 after a remarkable performance in the qualifiers led by a distinguished generation such asMokhtar Dhouib,Néjib Ghommidh,Raouf Ben Aziza andTarak Dhiab. They have reserved the only African seat by going to teams such asMorocco,Algeria,Nigeria[17] andEgypt.[18][19] Before the World Cup, Tunisia competed in the African Cup and wonUganda to find themselves in the semi-finals before losing to hostsGhana to play third place match with Nigeria.[20] Tunisia initially took the lead, but when Nigeria scored a controversial equalizer in the 42nd minute, the Tunisians walked off the pitch in protest and Nigeria were awarded a 2–0 victory by default.[21] At the World Cup in Argentina, Tunisia made an immediate impact by coming from behind after preparations were not at the desired level after a draw withHungary 2–2 and a defeat fromFrance 2–0 and another big defeat againstNetherlands 4–0.
In the first game,Mexico managed to advance through a penalty in the first half to end the break 1–0 for the Mexico. And before the start of the second half, Tunisian coach Chetali threw the Tunisian flag in front of the players and left the changing room. Tunisia managed to return to the game afterAli Kaabi scored the equalizer for Tunisia to enter history as the first Tunisian player to score a World Cup goal in the 55th minute before adding two goals to finish the game 3–1.[22] In the second match, they made a good performance againstPoland before the team lost 1–0,[23] but in the last game it was just around the corner to win the defending championWest Germany before the game ended 0–0. This performance has been admired by most analysts who did not expect it, and that has contributed to increasing the number of African teams qualified for the World Cup to become two. The team was received atTunis–Carthage International Airport by Tunisians, provided by Tunisian PresidentHabib Bourguiba, telling the players that they had accomplished the task of 50 ambassadors, because they contributed to the known of Tunisia internationally. After this impressive performance, coach Abdelmajid Chetali decided to resign after a remarkable period in which he managed to reach the Tunisian national team to the international level. However, the period that will come after his resignation will be filled with several disturbances that have lasted for years.
Following their first experience of World Cup football, Tunisia experienced a sudden decline after the passage of Tunisian coaches such asAmeur Hizem andHmid Dhib who withdrew the team in the World Cup qualifiers in1982 against Nigeria despite the participation of dozens of players who played the previous edition. Between 1980 and 1992, the team managed to qualify for only two tournaments – the1982 African Cup of Nations and the1988 Summer Olympics – and in both they were knocked out in the first round. In fact, Tunisia qualified for the African Cup hosted by neighbor Libya with Polish coachRyszard Kulesza after being banned in1980 African Cup but achieved negative results: drew withCameroon 1–1 in the first game before being defeated againstLibya 2–0 andGhana 1–0 to withdraw by only one point. Kulesza failed also to qualify for the1984 African Cup after the defeat against Egypt, which precipitated his departure. CoachYoussef Zouaoui was appointed to oversee the team and had a good start by winning friendly matches against Nigeria 5–0 and Canada 2–0 and also surpassedBenin andGuinea in the first rounds of the World Cup qualifiers in 1986. However, he failed to qualify for the1986 African Cup of Nations after the defeat to the Libyan team, which was strong in that period. But that did not prevent them from reaching the last round of theWorld Cup qualifiers by beating Nigeria before being defeated in front ofAlgeria, which qualified for the second time.
The formerCameroon coachJean Vincent was hired but failed to qualify for the1988 African Cup in Morocco after defeat against Algeria. He also achieved catastrophic results in the Football at theAfrican Games with defeats against Cameroon,Madagascar andKenya. He was immediately sacked.Taoufik Ben Othman was appointed who was the former assistant coach of Chetali in the team of 1978 team. The results improved relatively as they qualified for the Olympic Games after surpassingMorocco (thanks to the goal ofTarak Dhiab in the last minute) andEgypt in the qualifiers but Ben Othman was sacked days before the start of the competition after the poor results in the1988 Arab Cup and the failure to win in their matches againstSaudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq, as well as the bad results in friendly matches againstMalta,Finland and East Germany. The Polish coachAntoni Piechniczek was temporarily appointed and supervised the team in the first round of World Cup qualifiers 1990 and also in the finals of the Olympic Games where results were not good after drawing withChina 0–0 andSweden 2–2 and a heavy defeat fromWest Germany 1–4.
Mokhtar Tlili was appointed coach but the results did not improve by not qualifying for theAfrican Cup in Algeria 1990 after the heavy defeat to Senegal, which precipitated his departure and the arrival ofAntoni Piechniczek again and did not succeed in the World Cup qualifiers in1990 after the defeat in the last round against Cameroon to be contracted with coachMrad Mahjoub. Although he was unable to qualify for the1992 African Cup again, the federation renewed confidence in him because of the respectable performance he had given in the qualifiers because the team was eliminated withgoal difference to Egypt, in addition to winningBelgium in a friendly match but the early exit from the World Cup qualifiers in1994 contributed to his dismissal after a draw with Morocco to be replaced by coachYoussef Zouaoui before the 1994 African Cup to be hosted in Tunisia so the team managed to break the streak in 1994 by hosting that year'sAfrican Cup of Nations replacing original hostsZaire, but the result was catastrophic and unexpected with a defeat byMali 2–0 in the opening game atEl Menzah Stadium in front of 45,000, which contributed to the dismissal of Zouaoui after the opening match and compensated byFaouzi Benzarti, who drew withZaire in the second game finishing bottom of the group.
After confirming the decline of the Tunisian football, it was decided to hire a coach who knows the African football well. The former coach ofCôte d'IvoireHenryk Kasperczak was appointed, and the team's results were gradually improved. They managed to qualify for the African Cup for the first time in 14 years through the qualification after overcomingLiberia andSenegal. At the finals of1996 African Cup of Nations, Tunisia began badly after a draw againstMozambique and a defeat fromGhana, but they finished second in their group, putting them through to the quarter-finals surpassing the first round for the first time since 1978 after winningCôte d'Ivoire 3–1. Tunisia went on to beatGabon in the quarter-finals andZambia in the semi-finals 4–2 to reach their first major final in 31 years, but lost to host countrySouth Africa 2–0. This performance was appreciated by the Tunisian fans who did not expect this development in the team led by a new generation, most notablyChokri El Ouaer,Zoubeir Baya andAdel Sellimi. They were also received by PresidentZine El Abidine Ben Ali at the airport. In that period Tunisia qualified to the1996 Olympic Games after surpassing Guinea. The team did not rise to what was expected after the defeat fromPortugal and theUnited States with the same result 2–0 in addition to the draw withArgentina 1–1 which eliminated them from the group stage. Still under the leadership of Kasperczak, They qualified for the1998 Africa Cup of Nations after defeatingGuinea andSierra Leone and qualified for the final quarter in the lead of the group with a win overDR Congo,Togo and defeat fromGhana. In the quarter-final, where they were eliminated in a penalty shootout by host countryBurkina Faso. In that period, the team qualified for the second round of World Cup qualifiers after beatingRwanda. Tunisia was placed in the group 2 with Egypt, which was a strong candidate for the qualification, but Tunisia managed to qualify for the1998 FIFA World Cup for the second time in its history and the first since 20 years after winning Egypt,Liberia andNamibia. The team played some friendly matches before the World Cup withWales (won 4–0),Austria (lost 1–2) andChile (lost 2–3). In the finals, they failed to advance from the group stages, losing 2–0 toEngland and 1–0 toColombia, and drawing 1–1 withRomania.
Kasperczak was sacked and replaced with the Italian coachFrancesco Scoglio, who qualified the team for the2000 Africa Cup of Nations ideally after winning overAlgeria,Uganda andLiberia. Tunisia qualified for the quarter-finals of the competition for the third consecutive time with difficulty after the defeat in the first round ofNigeria and the victory overCongo and draw withMorocco as the team managed to qualify for the semi-final by overcomingEgypt before they lost three toCameroon and finish the competition in fourth place with a loss fromSouth Africa on penalty shootout. The following year, Scoglio departed to rejoinGenoa CFC, sparking a period of severe instability. The German coachEckhard Krautzun, was appointed and qualified the team to the2000 Africa Cup of Nations with difficulty with a group that includes Morocco, Gabon andKenya, he Succeeded to lead the team to the World Cup in South Korea and Japan for the third time in its history with a difficult group, including Côte d'Ivoire and the DR Congo. Krautsen was sacked surprisingly despite the good results after a sharp dispute with theTunisian Football Federation officials.Henri Michel replaced him, but was sacked when Tunisia crashed out of the2002 African Cup of Nations without scoring a single goal after a draw withSenegal andZambia and defeat from Egypt. Finally,Ammar Souayah took over in time for the2002 World Cup; The team drew in friendly matches with Norway and South Korea and were defeated by Denmark and Slovenia. In the finals, Tunisia could not do better than 1998 performance, drawing 1–1 withBelgium but losing 2–0 toRussia and co-hostsJapan making the federation look for a big coach before the start of the 2004 African Cup hosted by Tunisia.
Before the arrival of a new coach preparing the team for the upcoming African Cup, which will be held in Tunisia, the team drew 1–1 againstFrance atStade 7 November. The list of Tunisia's new coaches includedArtur Jorge,Vahid Halilhodžić,Gilbert Gress, andPhilippe Troussier. In September 2002, theTunisian Football Federation announced that it was finalizing a contract withRoger Lemerre, the former coach ofFrance. On 25 September 2002, the Tunisian Football Federation confirmed Lemerre as the country's new head coach. Lemerre coached his first match againstEgypt on 20 November 2002.
As hosts, Tunisia did not have to qualify for the2004 African Cup of Nations,[24] where they faceDR Congo,Rwanda andGuinea in the first round. The team won his opening match against Rwanda 2–1,[25] thanks to goals fromZiad Jaziri andFrancileudo Santos, despite the expulsion ofSelim Benachour in the 60th minute with a red card.[26] The second match against DR Congo is difficult until the CongoleseLomana LuaLua is sent off with a red card in the first half, after a frank attack onJawhar Mnari. Thanks toHatem Trabelsi on the right flank, the team managed to win the match 3–0 with a double from Dos Santos in the 55th and 87th minutes and a goal byNajeh Braham in the 65th minute.[27] On the day of the third match, corresponding toeid al-Adha, 35,000 spectators came to the stadium. Guinea managed to snatch the equalizing point after the end of the game with the score at 1–1,[28] Benachour scoring Tunisia's goal in the 58th minute, followed by a Guinean goal fromTiti Camara in the last minutes of the match.[29] Tunisia qualified for the quarter-finals on top of the group with seven points, after two wins and a draw. In the quarter-finals,Senegal who had already beaten Lemerre as France coach 1–0 in the2002 World Cup, faced him; Tunisia also won this game 1–0,[30] with Mnari scoring in the second half after a scissor kick from Jaziri; this match is notorious for the appearance offog on the pitch.[31] In the semi-finals,Nigeria which had eliminatedCameroon. The match becomes very even until the end of playing time 1–1. The first goal was scored by NigerianJay-Jay Okocha, who scored a penalty after Tunisian defenderKarim Haggui beatNwankwo Kanu in the penalty area. Fifteen minutes later, Nigerian defenderSeyi Olofinjana broke Tunisian striker Jaziri in the penalty area, with whom Tunisia also received a penalty. The Tunisian captainKhaled Badra equalized the score 1–1. The match is finally decided in the penalty shootout, which Tunisia wins 5–3 thanks to Haggui who takes the last shot. With the victory.[32] Tunisia reached the final, where they facedMorocco.
During the final, on 14 February 2004 atStade 7 November inRadès in front of 70,000 supporters,[33] Tunisia got off to a good start with a lead 1–0 after four minutes withMehdi Nafti centered on Dos Santos, who scored his fourth goal of the tournament. At the end of the first half, Morocco came back to score with a goal fromYoussouf Hadji on a lift fromYoussef Mokhtari. Seven minutes passed in the second half before another Tunisian striker, Jaziri gave his country the lead. The match finally ends with the score of 2–1, giving Tunisia their firstAfrica Cup of Nations title.[34]Khaled Badra andRiadh Bouazizi lifted the trophy after receiving it from PresidentZine El Abidine Ben Ali.[35] The Carthage Eagles are the 13th selection in history to be crowned African champions.Roger Lemerre also becomes the first coach to win two different continental tournaments after having previously wonEuro 2000 with France.[36] The national team also wins the African National Team of the Year award from theConfederation of African Football.[37] The victory gave rise to the team's nickname, the "Eagles of Carthage" and as a result the team's badge was changed to incorporate an eagle.[38]
The Tunisian team, winning their firstAfrican Cup of Nations title, enabled them to qualify for the2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany, where they participated in a tough group including hostsGermany,Argentina andAustralia. The opening match of this tournament was between Tunisia and Argentina, Tunisia lost by a narrow margin 1–2.[39] In the second match, the Tunisians resisted until the 74th minute, where they conceded three goals from the German team to end the match,[40] while in the third match they managed to beat Australia 2–0,[41] to leave good impressions. In the same year, the Tunisian national team played the World Cup qualifiers in 2006, and succeeded in overcomingGuinea (lost 2–1,[42] win 2–0),[43]Kenya (win 1–0,[44] win 0–2),[45]Malawi (draw 2–2,[46] win 7–0),[47]Botswana (win 4–1,[48] win 1–3)[49] and finallyMorocco, which attracted them to a 2–2 draw in the last round at theStade 7 November in front of 60,000 spectators,[50] which enabled the Tunisian team to qualify for the fourth World in its history and the third in a row. This confirmed the Tunisian domination of the continent, after the absence of all the big African teams, and Tunisia became the only African team qualified for the 2006 World Cup, and which it had previously been in. The following year, they failed to defend their title, losing toNigeria in the quarter-finals on penalties,[51] despite a perfect start in the group stage after beatingZambia 4–1[52] andSouth Africa 2–0. Preparations for the World Cup began as early as the team lost againstSerbia and Montenegro on 1 March 2006. The Federation also announced at the end of this month that it will hold a small tournament before the World Cup, an edition of theLG Cup, which will be attended byBelarus,[53]Libya andUruguay.[54] In May, Lemerre took his team to a training camp in Switzerland, where they played international friendlies against Swiss clubs.
The2006 FIFA World Cup kicked off, the first match being on 14 June againstSaudi Arabia. While Tunisia advanced with a goal byZiad Jaziri, Saudi Arabia managed to return and scored two goals, but in the last moments of the match, Tunisia managed to end the match with a 2–2 draw with a fatal goal byRadhi Jaïdi,[55] Lemerre was disappointed with the result. In the second match, Tunisia facedSpain led byRaul Gonzalez,Iker Casillas,Carles Puyol andSergio Ramos. Tunisia started the match strongly and scored the first goal, signed byJawhar Mnari. However, Spain made offensive changes in the second half, and Raul Gonzalez and his colleagues counterattacked goalkeeperAli Boumnijel, who scored the equalizer five minutes later,Fernando Torres scored the second goal for Spain, and finally in the 90th minute, a penalty kick ended the match with a score of 3–1. Lemerre also emphasized that Tunisia must win the last match againstUkraine to qualify to the Round of 16. Against Ukraine. In the match, the referee announced a suspected penalty kick scored byAndriy Shevchenko. The match eventually ended with a score of 1–0,[56] Tunisia were again eliminated from the group stage. Tunisian media and supporters criticized Lemerre's performance during the tournament.
At that time,Hatem Trabelsi announced his retirement from international football after 8 years,[57][58] Lemerre carried on his contract until the end, as he led Tunisia to qualify for the 2008 African Cup of Nations. In the qualification Tunisia facedMauritius,Sudan, andSeychelles. After 4 wins and 1 draw, Tunisia suffered a 3–2 loss against Sudan and finished second in the qualifying round. Despite this, Tunisia were among the favorite teams to win the cup after its outstanding performance in recent years in addition to the presence of 7 players fromÉtoile du Sahel, champions ofCAF Champions League, and Tunisia was able to qualify for the quarter-finals. Tunisia finished at the top of the group after a draw in the opening match against Senegal 2–2,[59] a 3–1 victory over South Africa,[60] In the third match, it faced Angola and the match ended 0–0.[61] They lost againstCameroon 3–2 in extra time.[62] After the competition, it was announced that Lemerre would continue as Tunisia's coach until the end of June. Preparations for the qualifying matches began in March by winning an againstIvory Coast 2–0.[63] Before the start of the qualifiers, the Tunisian Football Federation negotiated withBertrand Marchand andJacques Santini, but neither of them was able to reach the agreement they wanted with the Tunisian Football Federation. Instead, PortugueseHumberto Coelho was appointed as the new coach on 3 June 2008. Prior to his appointment, Lemerre led Tunisia for the last time in the fourth World Cup qualifier match againstBurundi, which ended in a 2–1 win.[64] On 30 June 2008,Roger Lemerre leaves Tunisia Six years later, the longest training period in the history of the Tunisian national team.[65]
Coelho took charge of coaching afterRoger Lemerre left the national team on 30 June 2008. The qualifiers continued in September under Coelho's 0–0 draw againstBurkina Faso and a large victory againstSeychelles 5–0.[66] The match paved the way for Tunisia to the third qualifying round in Group B. In the draw, Tunisia facesNigeria,Mozambique andKenya. Before the start of the qualifiers, Tunisia lost in a friendly match againstFrance 1–3, and achieved a surprising 1–1 draw against theNetherlands.[67] On 28 March 2009, Tunisia opened the qualifiers with a 1–2 victory in their opening match againstKenya.[68] With the next qualifying match in June, Coelho played a friendly match againstSudan ended with winning 4–0 at home.[69] Tunisia played its second qualifying match againstMozambique. The match ended with a second 2–0 victory.[70] The third match was played on 20 June 2009 against Nigeria. Tunisia topped its group after two rounds with a full score, while Nigeria collected only four points. The match ended 0–0.[71] The second leg of the qualifiers continued after in September. In the meantime, Tunisia played a friendly match againstIvory Coast ended 0–0.[72] After that, the fourth qualifier match was played inAbuja. In the last minute, Darragi scored the equalizer and the match ended 2–2.[73]
On 11 October 2009, Tunisia facedKenya and scored after one minute at theStade 7 November.[74] A few days later, Tunisia lost toSaudi Arabia surprisingly.[75] The final round of qualifying took place in November. For Tunisia, at least a draw was enough to qualify for the World Cup. but they lost the last and decisive match in the 83rd minute.[76] So, Tunisia failed to be in the2010 FIFA World Cup, but qualified for the2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Four days later, theTunisian Football Federation sacked coachHumberto Coelho and at the same time appointedFaouzi Benzarti as the new coach to oversee the national team in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. He was also eliminated after Tunisia were eliminated from the group stage, where all three matches were tied againstZambia,Gabon[77] andCameroon. Ending the session at the bottom of the group.
In June 2010,Bertrand Marchand was appointed coach for a two-year contract, with the aim of reaching the semi-finals of the2012 Africa Cup of Nations, especially after the excellent results he achieved withÉtoile Sportive du Sahel at the African and international levels. However, qualifying started poorly, losing two defeats toBotswana and a 2–2 draw againstMalawi[78] after beatingTogo 1–2,[79] stunning again against Botswana 1–0[80] which put the Tunisian team 65th in theFIFA World Rankings, the worst in its history . On 15 December 2010, after a meeting of the Federal Bureau,Bertrand Marchand was removed from his post. In 2011, Tunisia was marked bypolitical events and a new coach,Sami Trabelsi, was appointed. At the same time, CAF created a new tournament, especially for local national teams. Tunisia played the qualification againstMorocco and qualified.[81] Without preparation, the team is flying for the2011 African Nations Championship.[82] and finished at the top of the group after a 1–1 draw againstAngola,[83] a 3–1 victory againstRwanda[84] and another 2–0 victory againstSenegal,[85] In the quarter-finals, they won the defending championsDR Congo[86] and in the semi-finals,[87] Tunisia wonAlgeria on penalties.[88] In the final match, they won Angola easily 3–0.[89] But the Eagles of Carthage lost toOman on 29 March, 2–1 in a friendly match.[90] On 8 October, the team qualified for the2012 Africa Cup of Nations by defeatingTogo 2–0.[91] After a good start, with wins againstMorocco 2–1[92] andNiger,[93] two goals fromYoussef Msakni, and a 0–1 fall against host countryGabon. Tunisia is eliminated in the quarter-finals after extra games againstGhana 1–2.[94] On 29 February 2012, they tied againstPeru 1–1,[95] then on 29 May, they won againstRwanda 5–1.[96] In the2014 World Cup qualifications, Tunisia fall into a group comprisingCape Verde,Equatorial Guinea andSierra Leone; 3–1[97] to beat Equatorial Guinea 3–1[97] and Cape Verde 2–1.[98]
And then qualified on 13 October2013 Africa Cup of Nations despite two draws against Sierra Leone 2–2[99] and 0–0.[100] In the first match, Tunisia snatched victory in the last moments 1–0 againstAlgeria,[101] the best goal in the 2013 edition byYoussef Msakni. Then Tunisia were crushed byIvory Coast 3–0.[102] The last match ended with a 1–1 draw againstTogo.[103] In February 2013,Nabil Maâloul replaced Sami Trabelsi. In their first two 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifications, Tunisia beat Sierra Leone 2–1[104] and clinched a 2–2 draw inFreetown.[105] On 16 June, during the fifth round of the group stage, Tunisia tied 1–1 against Equatorial Guinea. On 7 September, the team was defeated at home by Cape Verde 0–2 and loses all hope of being qualified for the World Cup. Nabil Maâloul announces his resignation. On 12 September, however, FIFA qualifies Tunisia after Cape Verde is disqualified for cheating. In the wake of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, the Eagles of Carthage face Cameroon, Tunisia give a 0–0 draw at home[106] and fail at home toCameroon 4–1,[107] thus losing their qualifications. CoachRuud Krol leaves after only two games.
Belgian coachGeorges Leekens was appointed in early 2014 to try and revive the team's fortunes. Early results were positive, including a 1–1[108] draw againstColombia and a 1–0 win overSouth Korea,[109] both in friendly matches. Under Leekens, the team climbed from 49th to 22nd in few months in the FIFA rankings so the team regained its continental luster after the emergence of a new generation of players. Tunisia qualified for the2015 African Cup of Nations and finished top of their strong group includingSenegal,[110][111]Egypt[112][113] andBotswana.[114][115] At the finals of the tournament, Tunisia finished top of their group for the first time since 2008 winningZambia 2–1[116] and drawing withCape Verde[117] andDR Congo[118] with the same result 1–1 but were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a controversial 2–1[119] defeat to the hostEquatorial Guinea making CAF banned the refereeRajindraparsad Seechurn for six months for his "poor performance" at the tournament. In June 2015, Leekens resigned surprisingly forsecurity reasons after he restored the glamor of the team.
In July 2015,Henryk Kasperczak returned as coach after 17 years. He managed to qualify the team for the2017 African Cup in the lead with victory overLiberia,[120][121]Togo[122][123] andDjibouti.[124][125] He reached also the quarter-finals of the competition after beatingAlgeria[126] andZimbabwe[127] 4–2 before losing again in this round, this time againstBurkina Faso 2–0.[128] The defeats in friendly matches againstCameroon[129] andMorocco[130] with the same result 1–0 led to the dismissal of Kasperczak. On 27 April 2017,Nabil Maâloul returned as coach despite the disapproval of the Tunisian supporters following the failure at the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, but this time he qualified Tunisia for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia for the fifth time in the history of Tunisia and the first since 12 years after winning againstDR Congo 2–1 and 2–2[131][132]Guinea 2–0 and 4–1[133][134] andLibya 1–0 and 0–0[135][136] in thequalification. Tunisia's qualification for the2018 FIFA World Cup and its positive results in the friendlies againstIran[137] andCosta Rica[138] led to its rise to 14th place in theFIFA World Rankings for the first time ever, after being first in African teams and surpassing teams likeItaly andNetherlands. The team also continued its good results before the World Cup, with a draw withTurkey[139] andPortugal,[140] with the same score 2–2, in addition to a difficult defeat against Spain 1–0 in the 85th minute.[141] Despite this, in the World Cup, the performance of the team did not rise to the expected level, and was once again eliminated from the group stage.
The first match againstEngland,[142] the two teams had met at the1998 FIFA World Cup.[143] England scored byHarry Kane.[144] After 10 minutes, Tunisia equalized from a penalty kick.[145][146] In the additional time, Kane scored the second goal of his team.[144][147] The second match againstBelgium,[148] the two teams had faced each other at the2002 FIFA World Cup.[149][150][151] The match ended 5–2 for Belgium and Tunisia has registered their worst defeat ever in their World Cup history. The last game againstPanama,[152] the two teams had never met before.[153] Tunisia won 2–1,[154][155] which was the first victory after 40 years, since their3–1 victory over Mexico in 1978.[156] Because of this dismal performance, Tunisian squad was heavily criticized for its unpromising performance and the team's dubious record in World Cup, and fell out of top 20 teams on FIFA ranking.
The team went through a short experience withFaouzi Benzarti, who managed to qualify for the2019 Africa Cup of Nations surpassingEgypt,[157][158]Niger[159][160] andEswatini[161][162] before being fired due to problems between him and the president of theTunisian Football FederationWadie Jary. In December 2018, French coachAlain Giresse was hired to oversee the team at the2019 AFCON finals due to his experience in African football and his outstanding record as a player with theFrance national team. Despite the good results in friendly matches by defeating World Cup finalistCroatia 2–1, the start of the competition was poor after three draws in the group stage againstAngola,[163]Mali,[164] andMauritania[165] to qualify for the Round 16 with great difficulty in second place. In the next round, the results improved by beatingGhana,[166] andMadagascar 3–0[167] to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time in 15 years when Tunisia won the AFCON in2004 before they narrowly lost toSenegal 1–0[168] in extra time after a referee dispute ofBamlak Tessema because of not giving a clear penalty to Tunisia 4 minutes before the end of the game to complete the competition in fourth place behindNigeria.[169] Nonetheless, it stands as the best performance of Tunisia since winning 2004 AFCON at home.
After the2019 Africa Cup of Nations,Alain Giresse gives up and the TunisianMondher Kebaier is called on 27 August 2019 to supervise the team.[170] Preparations for the2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification begin, with several friendlies being played, a victory 1–0 againstMauritania,[171] a loss 2–1 againstIvory Coast[172] and a draw againstCameroon.[173] Meanwhile, Tunisia plays the for2020 African Nations Championship qualification againstLibya and won 1–0[171] then 2–1.[174] But, theTunisian Football Federation withdrew due to schedule pressure. The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification are drawn, with Tunisia facing Libya,Equatorial Guinea andTanzania. The first match against Libya ended with a large victory 4–1,[175] and another away victory against Equatorial Guinea with a goal of Khazri.[176] Meanwhile, the2022 FIFA World Cup qualification draw takes place and Tunisia draws again with Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania andZambia. After almost a year of hiatus due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the national team resumes and plays two friendlies to prepare for the remainder of the2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification againstSudan 3–0 victory[177] andNigeria 1–1 draw.[178] During the qualifiers, the Tunisian team plays four games to play, against Tanzania, 1–0 victory[179] then 1–1 draw,[180] in addition to a large victory over Libya inBenghazi 5–2[181] and a victory over Equatorial Guinea 2–1;[182] the team ended at the top of the group with five wins and one draw. After two months, the team plays three more friendlies, with a victory 1–0 over theDR Congo,[183] a home loss againstAlgeria 0–2[184] and a victory overMali 1–0.[185]
In September 2021, the national team began its matches during the2022 FIFA World Cup qualification with three consecutive victories against Equatorial Guinea 3–0,[186] against Zambia inNdola 2–0[187] and against Mauritania 3–0, followed by a draw against Mauritania inNouakchott 0–0[188] and a loss against Equatorial Guinea inMalabo 0–1,[189] which leads to strong criticism from the supporters, the qualification for the play-offs is obtained after a victory against Zambia 3–1,[190] concluding with four wins, a draw and a loss.[191] In the meantime, Qatar hosted the2021 FIFA Arab Cup. Tunisia qualified directly, due to theFIFA World Rankings. Tunisia started with a large victory 5–1 againstMauritania.[192] Then, the team suffered an unexpected defeat toSyria,[193] before beating theUnited Arab Emirates 1–0.[194] In the quarter-finals, the team improved and beatOman 2–1.[195] In the semi-final, Tunisia collided with their rivalEgypt, after a close match, Tunisia managed to score a goal in the 95th minute.[196] The victory allows Tunisia to reach its first FIFA final in the country's history.[197] In the final match, the Tunisian national team facedAlgeria, but were beaten 0–2 in overtime.[198][199] Despite the loss of the title, the team's performance has restored confidence to the supporters.[200] In this context, they are congratulated byFIFA and named as the best supporters of the tournament.[201]
The team's participation in the2021 Africa Cup of Nations was rather bad. In the group stage, it began with a 0–1 defeat fromMali during the match, which witnessed strange refereeing events, as Zambian refereeJanny Sikazwe ended the match in the 85th minute.[202] In the second match, the team achieved a moral victory overMauritania 4–0 thanks to the double ofWahbi Khazri and the goals ofHamza Mathlouthi andSeifeddine Jaziri,[203] but the team was afflicted by a 0–1 defeat againstGambia in the last moments of the match,[204] to qualify for the round of 16 as the best third in the group stage. Nevertheless, the team defeated strongNigeria 1–0 with the goal ofYoussef Msakni from outside the penalty area, despite the absence ofMondher Kebaier from the match due to his infection with theCOVID-19 virus, and he was replaced by his assistantJalel Kadri.[205] In the end, the team was eliminated from the quarter–finals againstBurkina Faso after a 0–1 defeat.[206] After this disappointing participation,Mondher Kebaier was dismissed from coaching the national team three years after his appointment and the appointment of his assistantJalel Kadri. as his successor. Meanwhile, the draw for the third round of theAfrican 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was held, as it resulted in a home–and–forth match againstMali. In the first leg match at theStade du 26 Mars inBamako, Tunisia won out of the rules 1–0 thanks to Mali'sMoussa Sissako's own goal after pressure fromYoussef Msakni,[207] As for the return match at theStade Hammadi Agrebi in front of 50,000 spectators, it ended in a 0–0 draw,[208] so that the Tunisian team qualified for theFIFA World Cup for the sixth time in its history.[209]
Preparations start early, as the team plays two matches for the2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, the first againstEquatorial Guinea inRadès 4–0 victory and the second againstBotswana inFrancistown draw 0–0.[210][211] Subsequently, the team is set to play the2022 Kirin Cup Soccer in Japan from 10 to 14 June 2022,[212] with the participation of three other teams:Japan,Chile andGhana.[213] In the semi-finals, Tunisia beat Chile 2–0 and then Japan 3–0 and thus won the title for the first time.[214]Ferjani Sassi was named the tournament's best player,[215] while his compatriotIssam Jebali finished top scorer with two goals.[216] After that, the team played two friendlies: the first againstComoros, which ended in victory 1–0,[217] and the second which ended in a heavy loss againstBrazil 5–1.[218] The Carthage Eagles end their preparations with a victory againstIran with a score of 2–0 a few days before the world cup, the match not being broadcast and taking place behind closed doors at the request of theIranian federation.[219]
In the first match inGroup D,Mohamed Dräger threatens the opponent's goal, thenIssam Jebali dominatesKasper Schmeichel, but the situation is prevented by an offside. In the 43rd minute, Jebali comes face to face with Schmeichel after hitting the goal and tries to beat the goalkeeper with a through shot, but he uses his thumbs and fends off the finish.[220]Christian Eriksen then makes an attempt beyond the goal line, butAymen Dahmen is illustrated with a save.[221] From the corner that follows,Andreas Cornelius wastes an opportunity by finding himself alone at the far post, but his header only seals the structure of the goals. Due to the subsequent dominance over the ball, despite their best efforts, the Danes could not find a solution against the Tunisia defence, and the match ended in a goalless draw.[222] Thanks to his performance in this match,Aïssa Laïdouni receives the man of the match award.[223] In the second match, the team are led to a 1–0 loss againstAustralia,[224] with the technical framework and the players receiving criticism due to the weakness of the midfield and the attack,[225] which reduces the chances of Tunisia to qualify for the round of 16. In the final game against world championsFrance,Wahbi Khazri put Tunisia ahead in the 58th minute with a low shot to the bottom right corner.[226] At this stage, Tunisia is in a position to qualify in the group. However, two minutes later, Australia took the lead againstDenmark in the other match, which sent Tunisia out of the knockout stage.[227] Captain Khazri wins the Man of the Match award.[228] This is Tunisia's first victory against a European team in the World Cup, and the team have collected the most points (four points) in the group stage since their first appearance in1978 FIFA World Cup (three points). In this context,Wahbi Khazri is retiring from international retirement,[229] after 74 games in which he scored 25 goals.
After his exclusion from the World Cup, Kadri submitted his resignation,[230] but the Federal Bureau refused and extended his contract until 2024.[231] The team finished the2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification at the top of the group after beatingLibya in the first leg 3–0 and the return leg 1–0 inBenghazi,[232][233]Botswana 3–0 and a defeat againstEquatorial Guinea 0–1 inMalabo.[234][235] The team's performances began to decline, especially after the president of theTunisian Football Federation, Wadie Jary, was imprisoned after accusations of financialcorruption were proven.[236] The team drew a friendly againstAlgeria 1–1 inAnnaba and won againstEgypt 3–1 inCairo.[237][238] In East Asia, the team suffered two defeats againstSouth Korea 0–4 inSeoul andJapan 0–2 inKobe.[239][240] On 17 November 2023, the national team started the2026 FIFA World Cup qualification with two victories againstSão Tomé and Príncipe 4–0 andMalawi 1–0 inLilongwe.[241][242] Tunisia was drawn for the AFCON alongsideMali,Namibia andSouth Africa.[243] In preparation for the competition, the team played two friendly matches in Radès, a draw againstMauritania 0–0 and a victory againstCape Verde 2–0.[244][245]
In the first match, the team tried in vain to overcome the constant pressure from Namibia.[246] At the end of the second half, two minutes before the end of regulation time,Bethuel Muzeu sent a cross from midfield to strikerDeon Hotto, who scored a vertical goal thatBechir Ben Saïd could not block,[247] so the match ended in a 0–1 defeat.[248] Against Mali, the Tunisians fell behind after a goal byLassine Sinayoko on a pass fromKamory Doumbia.[249] Just ten minutes after Mali opened the scoring,Ali Abdi produced a point and a back pass forHamza Rafia to equalise,[250] which proved to be the final score of the match.[251] In the last match against South Africa, Tunisia was too timid while South Africa was too reluctant to make convincing efforts while holding the advantage.[252] However, as the match became increasingly difficult, the Tunisians almost fell into the traps of the South African counterattack, including a missed effort bySphephelo Sithole.[253] Despite an attempt at goal byHaythem Jouini, the match ended goalless, eliminating Tunisia from the group stage for the first time since the2013 edition.[254] In this context, the coach submitted his resignation two years after taking office.[255]
Three days later, the entire technical staff was dismissed,[256] whileAnis Boussaïdi andMontasser Louhichi were appointed to act as interim managers.[257] On 30 January the federation published a notice announcing the opening of applications in a context of controversy.[258] In this context, the team lost thirteen places, which made it fall to 41st place in theFIFA world ranking, the worst drop since April 2011.[259] In March, the team participated in the Egyptian Capital Cup,[260] a friendly tournament affiliated with the2024 FIFA Series. Under Louhichi's leadership,[261] the team played in the semi-final againstCroatia and, after a 0–0 draw, lost on penalties 4–5.[262] In the third-place match, the team facedNew Zealand; the match also ended in a goalless draw, which ended with a 4–2 penalty shootout victory and a third-place finish for Tunisia.[263] Louhichi continued to lead the team in the third and fourth rounds of the World Cup qualifiers.[264] The team won narrowly againstEquatorial Guinea in Radès thanks to a goal fromMohamed Ali Ben Romdhane on a penalty and a goalless draw againstNamibia in Johannesburg.[265][266]
On 14 June,Faouzi Benzarti was appointed coach for the fourth time, to take office on 1 July, withMehdi Nafti as assistant coach.[267][268] The draw for the2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification took place on 4 July.[269] Tunisia was inGroup A withMadagascar,Comoros andGambia.[270] On 23 July, FIFA decided to create a normalization committee within theTunisian Football Federation andKamel Idir was asked to lead it.[271] However, Nafti was dismissed from his duties and replaced byKais Yaâkoubi for disciplinary reasons.[272][273] On 5 September, the team began the qualifiers with a difficult victory in Radès against Madagascar 1–0,[274] thanks to a goal byFerjani Sassi in the 98th minute, then a victory three days later against Gambia inEl Jadida, Morocco 2–1 with a double byAli Abdi and Ben Romdhane.[275] On the third matchday, Tunisia was shocked by a surprise defeat against the Comoros in Radès 1–0 with a poor performance.[276] In the return match, played in Abidjan against the same opponent, Tunisia was behind until Yassine Meriah equalized in the 69th minute, ending the match 1–1.[277] The team received strong criticism due to poor choices in the technical framework and the lack of discipline on the part of the players.[278][279] After that, Benzarti threatened to resign, but the normalization committee refused,[280] before changing his mind on 22 October by mutual agreement with Benzarti. In this context, the team lost eleven places in the FIFA world rankings, falling to 47th place, which is the biggest drop recorded in October 2024 on a global scale.
On 5 October, Kais Yaâkoubi was appointed interim coach for the last two matches of the qualifiers. On 14 November, during the penultimate day, Tunisia successfully played the return match against Madagascar inPretoria 3–2, thus qualifying for the final phase of the2025 Africa Cup of Nations thanks to goals fromHamza Rafia,Sayfallah Ltaief andAli Abdi. In the last match, the team suffered a new defeat inRadès, this time against Gambia 0–1. Tunisia finished the qualifiers in second place in the group behind the Comoros with three wins, one draw and two losses. This is the first time since the2012 qualification that Tunisia has qualified for the AFCON in second place. This causes it to fall again in the FIFA world rankings and finish in 52nd place in November 2024. In early January 2025, the normalization committee attempted to conclude a contract with Portuguese coachCarlos Queiroz,[281] who had come to Tunisia to negotiate the deal. Despite his financial concessions,[282] the deal fell through after the authorities intervened due to the large amount of the contract, estimated at 500,000 dinars per month.[283] On 25 January, Moez Nasri was elected the new president of the federation.[284][285] Two days later, the draw for the2025 Africa Cup of Nations took place inRabat,[286] with Tunisia placed in the second pot and drawn intoGroup C alongsideNigeria,Uganda andTanzania.[287] On 1 February,Ziad Jaziri was appointed sporting director with the assistance ofKhalil Chemmam and the task of proposing names for the position of coach to the federal office.[288]
On 10 February, the federation announced the return ofSami Trabelsi as the team's coach, twelve years after his departure.[289][290] He faced his first serious test on 19 and 24 March, in the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2026 World Cup qualification, where the team under his leadership won two victories againstLiberia 1–0 thanks to a goal fromHazem Mastouri andMalawi 2–0, with goals fromSeifeddine Jaziri andElias Achouri.[291][292] On 26 April, the team was called to participate in the2025 FIFA Arab Cup.[293] In June, the team played two friendly matches, with a victory 2–0 againstBurkina Faso and a defeat 0–2 againstMorocco,[294][295] while the third match scheduled against theCentral African Republic was canceled.[296] In September, the team returned to the qualifiers and beatLiberia in Radès 3–0 with goals fromHazem Mastouri,Ferjani Sassi andElias Saad.[297] On 8 September, Tunisia qualified for the World Cup for the seventh time in its history after beatingEquatorial Guinea 1–0 inMalabo, thanks to a goal from Ben Romdhane in the 90+4 minute.[298][299]
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After the independence of Tunisia in 1956, the Tunisian national stadium wasChedly Zouiten Stadium,[300] which has a capacity of 18,000,[301] and hosted all the matches of the Tunisian team. It hosted also the1965 and1994 African Cup of Nations and the1977 FIFA World Youth Championship before it was replaced after the construction ofEl Menzah Stadium (45,000) in 1967 for the1967 Mediterranean Games. Tunisia's first match at the stadium was played on 8 September 1967 againstLibya. Tunisia won the match 3–0. This stadium became the new stronghold of the Eagles of Carthage. It hosted the1977 FIFA World Youth Championship and was completely renovated for the1994 African Cup of Nations. It hosted also the2004 African Cup of Nations.
In 2001, the7 November Stadium was inaugurated as Tunisia's national stadium ahead of the2001 Mediterranean Games. Located inRadès, the stadium has an all-seater capacity of 60,000.[302] The first match at the stadium was played on 7 July 2001 against betweenÉtoile du Sahel andCS Hammam-Lif for theTunisian Cup final. CS Hammam-Lif won the match 1–0, with Anis Ben Chouikha scoring the lone goal. Since that match, Tunisia has used the stadium for almost every major home game, including the2004 African Cup of Nations Final. The Tunisians often host their matches at theMustapha Ben Jannet Stadium inMonastir which has a capacity of 20,000.
In addition, there are many other venues that host the Tunisian team, such as theSousse Olympic Stadium, which hosted a friendly match between Tunisia andSwitzerland in November 2012 and also hosted a match in the2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification between Tunisia andChad which was won by Tunisia 5–0.Gabès Municipal Stadium was also chosen to host a friendly match between Tunisia andMauritania which ended with a draw in October 2016.
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Fans of the Tunisian national team display thecountry's national flag, usually with an emphasis on the red element. One of the greatest moments for the Tunisian team was when the Tunisian delegation at theTunis–Carthage International Airport received a warm "welcome home" after the1978 epic that delighted the Tunisians, who still remember the details, and the brilliant performance of the team was credited with adding a new berth of qualification toAfrica for the World Cup.
The team's popularity also appeared in the2004 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia, where the crowds were heavily attended during that period. TheStade 7 November ofRadès was filled with 60,000 spectators in the six matches of the tournament. The team's deterioration after the 2006 World Cup lead to their absence from the end stages of the next two world cups, and strained their popularity. In fact, the stadiums were almost empty with the national team's matches in that period. Between 2008 and 2014, local journalists accused the Tunisian team for their poor performance.
Of the fans that kept supporting the squad in bad times,Bechir Manoubi was one of the most loyal. He attended the team's matches worldwide since 1960, he was famous for wearing theMexican hat and his suit with thousands of slogans and cards for the various events he covered. The2006 World Cup qualifying match on 6 October 2005 between Tunisia and Morocco, which was just days before his death, was the last event he ever attended.
The emergence of skilled players and the rise of a new promising generation in addition to good results in the second term ofHenryk Kasperczak, increased fans' enthusiasm and belief in a successful World Cup campaign. Because of this popularity peak,FIFA named the Tunisian fans among the best in the2018 FIFA World Cup. This choice comes after the great attendance of the Tunisian masses, which turned to Russia in large numbers between 15 and 20 thousand fans, attended and supported the Tunisian team in their three group matches of the World Cup. However, fan support fell as Tunisia once again failed to live up the heavy expectation, with the Tunisians unable to progress from the group stage in its fifth World Cup participation.
Tunisia's main football rivals are its neighbours Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt, with which it shares close cultural and political relations.
Tunisia played until today 45 games againstAlgeria. The first match took place on 1 June 1957 in a friendly match against theFLN football team when Algeria was aFrench colony. It was at this time that the matches were the most regular. Indeed, the two teams met six times, between June 1957 and May 1958, with eight victories for the Algerians. After theindependence of Algeria, the first official match took place on 15 December 1963, in a friendly match at theStade Chedly Zouiten in Tunisia. The teams also met three times in thequalifying phase of the World Cup in1970,1978 and1986. The overall record is slightly favorable to the Algerians with sixteen wins, fourteen draws and fourteen losses. The last defeat of Algeria against their neighbors dated back to 20 January 2017 during the2017 Africa Cup of Nations which was hosted by Gabon. Before this match, the two teams had met once in the African Cup of Nations finals in2013, which was also dominated by the Tunisians. Currently, the Algerians dominate the head-to-head record and international achievement, nonetheless, in direct official competitions, Tunisia proves to be more dominant than Algeria. The last Algerian victory against Tunisia in an official game dates back to 1988 when the Algerians won by 1–0 in the 1988 Afcon qualifiers. Since then, Tunisia either won or drew against their neighbors in official games.
The match between theEgyptian and the Tunisian team are one of Africa's best and most exciting matches for their long continental history. The two teams have met 39 times in both official and friendly matches. Tunisian and Egyptian teams have collected 25 official matches and 14 friendly matches. The overall record is slightly favorable to the Tunisians as they won 16 matches and Egypt won 12 matches and ended 11 matches with a draw; however Egypt has achieved more successes in Africa than Tunisia.
The Eagles scored 42 goals in the Pharaohs' goal, while Egypt scored only 35 goals against Tunisia. The largest goal scoring match was on 11 December 1977 for the1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) after the great win of the Tunisians 4–1 which contributed in their qualification for the World Cup. Tunisia have faced the Egyptian team 7 times in qualifying for either the World Cup or theAfrican Nations Cup. The three World Cup qualifications were in1974,1978 and1998 where Tunisia qualified in the last two editions against Egypt. The four qualifiers for the African Nations Cup were in1978 (Tunisia won 3–2 after drawing 2–2), 1984 (0–0 draw inTunis and the Pharaohs won inCairo 1–0), 1992 (the teams drew 2–2 twice) and 2015 (Tunisia won 1–0 and 2–1 respectively), in addition to the current 2019 qualifiers for the fifth time, which Tunisia won the first game 1–0 in Radès and lost the second game inAlexandria 2–3.
The two teams met twice in the African Nations Cup finals in2000 in Nigeria when Tunisia won 1–0 and in the next edition in2002 in Mali when Egypt won with the same result.Hossam Hassan is the most of Egyptian players participating in the games of the Pharaohs against the Eagles of Carthage with 12 games, whileWahbi Khazri comes as the most of Tunisian players to participate in their matches against Egypt by 3 games. Both Egypt and Tunisia also share a similar dubious record in theFIFA World Cup, with both teams being unable to progress beyond the group stage despite Tunisia qualifying for the World Cup five times, while Egypt qualified only three times.
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Tunisians andMoroccans have played 50 games since their independence from France in 1956. Their first match was for the1962 World Cup qualification, took place on 30 October 1960 inCasablanca. Most of the matches were played in theFIFA World Cup qualification as they met in the qualifiers of1962,1970,1978,1990,1994 and2006. They also met 4 times in the African Cup of Nations. Two of them ended in a draw in1978 and2000 and the other two matches with the victory of the Tunisian team in2004 and2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
In fact, their most important match was the2004 African Cup of Nations Final inStade 7 November in Tunisia, where the Tunisians won their first African title. The overall record is favorable to the Moroccans with 13 wins, 28 draws and 9 losses; but Tunisia has managed to dominate majority of official encounters in major competitions. The last match between theMaghrebian teams dated back to 28 March 2017 during afriendly match won byMorocco inMarrakech which contributed to the dismissal of the Tunisian coachHenryk Kasperczak.
The two teams are similar in terms of both having a single African Cup and the two teams have also qualified for five World Cups, despite their numerous World Cup qualifying matches. They qualified for the same tournament in1998 in France and2018 in Russia and2022 in Qatar.
In the history of the Tunisia national football team, 6 companies supplied sports uniforms to the Tunisian national team, starting in 1970, when the famous German companyAdidas began to adopt the Tunisian national team's uniforms for 24 years and also provided it, in his first appearance in the1978 FIFA World Cup, with a first set of red jerseys and white socks with white Adidas posters. For the second kit, it's all white with red Adidas labels.
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Starting in 1994, the Italian companyLotto increased the Tunisian team with sports uniforms until 1998 in Tunisia's second participation in the1998 FIFA World Cup. The first set is white decorated with curved red shapes on the shoulders and chest, while the second set is decorated in red. with curved red shapes on the shoulders, chest and abdomen. The German companyUhlsport supplied the Tunisian team with sports uniforms for two periods, the first for a single 2000–2001 season, where the company designed a white shirt with a line on the chest that extends to the hands and the second set consists of a red shirt with the same line on the chest and extended to the hands in white.
From 2002 to 2011, the German companyPuma started providing the Tunisian national football team kits since the2002 FIFA World Cup. In fact, the company supplied 6 designs of the Tunisian national team kits, all of which are similar in the wording of the logo and the company's signs, where the main kit is white with Puma red marks and the spare kit is red with white Puma markings. In 2012, theTunisian Football Federation entered into a contract with the Swiss company Burrda Sport for a period of four years until 2016, and supplied the Tunisian national team crews in the 2012, 2013, and 2015 African Nations Cups. In 2016, the German company Uhlsport returned to supply the Tunisian national team with sports kits with a contract It has a duration of three years, and indeed the company presented the Tunisian national team kit at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but it was not according to expectations.
In 2019, the Italian companyKappa began manufacturing the Tunisian national football team kits. The third kit has been described as the best kit in the history of the Tunisian national team. It is black and has gray trims forming an eagle, which is the title of the Tunisian national team, "Eagles of Carthage".
| Period | Kit supplier | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 1956–1970 | Local equipment | [303] |
| 1970–1994 |  Adidas | [304] |
| 1994–1995 |  Guidas | [305] |
| 1995–1997 |  Kappa | [306] |
| 1998–2000 | Lotto | [307] |
| 2000–2001 | Uhlsport | [308] |
| 2002–2010 | Puma | [309] |
| 2011–2015 |  Burrda Sport | [310] |
| 2016–2018 | Uhlsport | [311] |
| 2018– | Kappa | [312] |
Tunisia has participated six times in theFIFA World Cup, the biggest men's football event in the world, in1978,1998,2002,2006,2018 and2022. Throughout all the participations, Tunisia was unable to advance beyond the group stage. Tunisia qualified for the World Cup for the first time in its history during the1978 edition in Argentina, competing inGroup 2 under the leadership of coachAbdelmajid Chetali. Tunisia became the first African and Arab team to win a World Cup match, after defeatingMexico 3−1 in Tunisia's first match in the competition. The team then lost toPoland 0−1 and drew with defending championWest Germany 0−0, exiting the tournament in the group stage.Ali Kaabi,Mokhtar Dhouieb andNéjib Ghommidh scored the team's goals.
Tunisia failed to qualify for the World Cup for the next four editions until returning 20 years later to the1998 FIFA World Cup in France, competing inGroup G, led by polish coachHenryk Kasperczak. The team lost its first two matches against England 0−2 and Colombia 0−1, and tied with Romania in the last round 1−1.Skander Souayah scored Tunisia's only goal in the tournament. Tunisia qualified for the2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, where Tunisia played its matches in Japan, competing inGroup H, led by coachAmmar Souayah. The team lost its first match againstRussia 0−2, then drew 1−1 withBelgium before being eliminated again after a 0−2 defeat to hostsJapan.Raouf Bouzaiene scored Tunisia's only goal. Tunisia qualified for the2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany competing inGroup H, led by french coachRoger Lemerre. The team tied in the first match againstSaudi Arabia 2−2, but suffered two defeats against the strongSpain 1−3 despite taking the lead in the first minutes of the match, and then againstUkraine 0−1.Ziad Jaziri,Radhi Jaïdi andJawhar Mnari scored Tunisia's three goals in the tournament.
Tunisia failed to qualify for the next two editions in South Africa and Brazil, and the team returned to competition after a 12-year absence at the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where it competed inGroup G, led by coachNabil Maâloul. The team's performance did not rise as it came in a difficult group that includedEngland,Belgium andPanama, which qualified for the first time. The team suffered two consecutive defeats against European opponents: England 1−2 and a heavy defeat to strong Belgium 2−5. However, the team won its last match against Panama 2−1.Wahbi Khazri scored two goals, whileFerjani Sassi,Dylan Bronn andFakhreddine Ben Youssef each scored one goal. Tunisia qualified for the2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the first edition to be held in the Arab world. The team competed inGroup D under the leadership of coachJalel Kadri. The team drew 0−0 withDenmark and then suffered a 0−1 defeat toAustralia, but still won 1−0 against defending championsFrance. But the team was unable to advance to the round of 16 due to Denmark's victory over Australia, and Tunisia left the group stage again. Khazri scored Tunisia's only goal.
Wahbi Khazri is the Tunisian player who has scored the most goals in the competition with three: two in 2018 and one in the 2022 edition.Riadh Bouazizi andKaies Ghodhbane are the two Tunisian players with the most matches played (eight games each in 1998, 2002 and 2006).
Tunisia has participated in theAfrica Cup of Nations 21 times, and holds the record for the number of consecutive participations with 17, as the team has not been absent from the competition since the1994 edition on its home soil.[313] The first participation was in the1962 edition in Ethiopia.[314] Tunisia played their first match on 14 January 1962 and lost to thehost country team 2–4 in the semi-final. However, Tunisia beatUganda 3–0 in the third place match to win the bronze medal.[315] Tunisia hosted the event for the first time during the1965 edition, where the team reached the final and lost to the defending championsGhana 0–2 afterextra time to add the silver medal.[316]
In the next two decades, the team participated only twice, finishing fourth in the1978 edition in Ghana and being eliminated from the group stage in the1982 edition in Libya. After failing to qualify for the next five editions, the team returned to the competition, hosting the1994 edition and achieving the worst participation in its history and on home soil after losing toMali 0–2 and drawing againstZaire 1–1, eliminating it from the group stage. In the1996 edition, led by Polish coachHenryk Kasperczak, the team reached the final, but lost to hostsSouth Africa 0–2.[317] Eight years later, in the2004 edition hosted by Tunisia for the third time, the team won the title for the first time in its history, led by the French coachRoger Lemerre with a respectable generation of players, after defeatingSenegal in the quarter-finals andNigeria in the semi-finals, and defeatedMorocco in the final match 2–1.[318]
Since then, the team has not achieved noticeable results, as it was eliminated from the group stage in2010,2013 and2023, exited from the quarter-finals in2006,2008,2012,2015,2017 and2021, and achieved fourth place in2019. In total, Tunisia have participated in the African Cup of Nations 21 times, playing 83 matches, with 25 wins, 30 draws and 28 losses, scoring 100 goals and conceding 97. The nation's biggest victories at the tournament were 4–0 wins againstEthiopia on 12 November 1965 and againstMauritania on 16 January 2022.[319][320] Tunisia's biggest defeats were 3–0 losses againstCameroon on 10 February 2000, againstGuinea on 30 January 2006, and against theIvory Coast on 26 January 2013.Francileudo Santos is the top-scoring Tunisian player at the tournament with ten total goals,[321] whileYoussef Msakni has appeared in a record 29 matches across eight tournaments between 2010 and 2023.[322]
Tunisia has participated in two editions of theAfrican Nations Championship. In the2009 African Nations Championship qualification, Tunisia represented by theU-23 team, under the management ofMondher Kebaier, where Tunisiaeliminated there in the qualification phase. In 2011, under the leadership ofSami Trabelsi, Tunisia qualified for the finals and won the championship by beating Angola in the final. In 2014, placed under the direction ofNabil Maâloul, she was eliminated in the qualification phase.
In the2016 African Nations Championship qualification, under the leadership ofHenryk Kasperczak, Tunisia qualified for the finals, butHatem Missaoui led the team in Rwanda. Tunisia was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Mali. In the next edition, theTunisian Football Federation announced that Tunisia will not participate in the2018 African Nations Championship due to the participation of the first team in the2018 FIFA World Cup. In2020 African Nations Championship qualification, Tunisia faced Libya two home and away games, winning the first match 1–0 atStade Olympique de Radès and the second 2–1 atStade Boubker Ammar;Anice Badri scores the goals for Tunisia in both cases. The national team qualified for the final phase but, on 20 December 2019, the qualification was withdrawn by the Tunisian Football Federation due to the intensity of the matches. The team didn't enter to the2022 African Nations Championship qualification.
On 9 October 2024, during the draw for the2024 African Nations Championship qualification, CAF has allocated three places for theNorth African region, howeverAlgeria andEgypt have declined to participate, it was decided that Libya, Morocco and Tunisia would automatically qualify for the final tournament. However, on 9 November Tunisia withdrew again from participation after meeting with representatives of Tunisian league clubs due to the pressure of the calendar.
Tunisia has participated three times in theFIFA Arab Cup, the biggest men's football event in theArab world. Tunisia was one of five teams participating in thefirst edition of theArab Nations Cup, held inBeirut, Lebanon, in 1963. At the time, the tournament was official. Under the leadership of French coachAndré Gérard, Tunisia won the title, finishing first in the group after winning all four of its matches and collecting eight points againstSyria 1–0,Jordan 4–0,Kuwait 5–1, andLebanon 1–0. Mongi Haddad was the tournament's top scorer with four goals. Tunisia missed the next three editions and did not return until1988. Under the leadership ofMokhtar Tlili, the team was forced to play two qualifying matches, drawing 0–0 againstAlgeria and winning 2–1 againstMauritania. During the finals, the team's performances did not live up to expectations, and they were eliminated in the first round after three draws againstIraq 1–1,Saudi Arabia 1–1, andLebanon 1–1, as well as a 0–1 defeat againstEgypt.
On 25 July 2020, FIFA invited Tunisia to participate in the2021 FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar, the first edition under the auspices ofFIFA with the participation of sixteen teams in the final tournament. Tunisia advanced directly to the finals without qualifying, thanks to its first place in the Arab world in theFIFA world rankings. The team finished first in its group after two wins againstMauritania 5–1 and theUnited Arab Emirates 1–0, as well as a surprise defeat againstSyria 0–2. In the quarter-finals, the team defeatedOman 2–1 and, in the semifinals,Egypt 1–0 thanks to a goal in the 90+5 minute. However, Tunisia lost the final toAlgeria 0–2 after extra time.Seifeddine Jaziri was the tournament's top scorer with four.
On 26 April 2025, FIFA invited Tunisia to participate in the2025 FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar. Tunisia advanced directly to the finals without qualifying, thanks to its fifth place in the Arab world in theFIFA world rankings.
Tunisia participated at theFIFA Confederations Cup on one occasion, a sole appearance in2005. Tunisia qualified for the2005 FIFA Confederations Cup as theCAF representative after winning2004 Africa Cup of Nations. The opening match of this tournament was between Tunisia and Argentina, Tunisia lost by a narrow margin 1–2.[39] In the second match, the Tunisians resisted until the 74th minute, where they conceded three goals from the German team to end the match,[40] while in the third match they managed to beat Australia 2–0, to leave good impressions.[41]
The Tunisian national team participated in thefootball tournament in the Mediterranean Games 12 times.[323] The first participation in the event was in the1963 edition inNaples, Italy. Tunisia was satisfied with the sixth place at the time after being eliminated from the group stage. The Tunisian team reached the final twice, the first in the1971 edition inIzmir, Turkey and won the silver medal after defeating in the final byYugoslavia 0–1 and the second time in the2001 edition inTunis, Tunisia. The Tunisian team then won the gold medal after defeating Italy 1–0. The Tunisian team also won the bronze medal twice, first in the1975 edition inAlgiers, Algeria and the second time in the2013 edition inMersin, Turkey.
The Tunisian national team has always been one of the best African teams, especially thanks to its good results in theAfrica Cup of Nations (3rd place in the1962 edition, second place in the1965 and1996 editions and the champion in the2004 edition). But also after the good results in 2017 and 2018: the2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (eight matches: six wins and two draws) and friendlies (five matches: 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat); Thus, the Tunisian national team reached the fourteenth place in the world in April and May 2018. It is also considered the best African team in the FIFA World Ranking between January and December 2018. Below is a chart of TunisiaFIFA ranking from 1993 until now.[324]
| Tunisia's FIFA world rankings | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Rank | Statistics | Best | Worst | ||||||
| FIFA | CAF | Pld | W | D | L | Rank | Move | Rank | Move | |
| 1993 | 32 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 31 |  7 (August) | 36 |  3 (September) |
| 1994 | 30 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 27 | 4 (September) | 33 | 3 (October) |
| 1995 | 22 | 2 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 6 (February) | 27 | 4 (August) |
| 1996 | 23 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 6 (February) | 31 | 9 (June) |
| 1997 | 23 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 7 (August) | 29 | 4 (June) |
| 1998 | 21 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 6 (November) | 26 | 4 (July) |
| 1999 | 31 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 4 (November) | 33 | 7 (June) |
| 2000 | 26 | 2 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 25 | 3 (June) | 28 | 1 (September) |
| 2001 | 28 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 7 (July) | 32 | 5 (April) |
| 2002 | 41 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 28 | 0 (June) | 41 | 5 (July) |
| 2003 | 45 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 3 (April) | 46 | 3 (October) |
| 2004 | 35 | 6 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 14 (February) | 45 | 2 (April) |
| 2005 | 28 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 8 (September) | 40 | 4 (October) |
| 2006 | 32 | 7 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 5 (February) | 32 | 10 (July) |
| 2007 | 47 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 32 | 5 (July) | 47 | 13 (February) |
| 2008 | 46 | 9 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 44 | 3 (April) | 56 | 7 (February) |
| 2009 | 53 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 2 (July) | 54 | 8 (February) |
| 2010 | 45 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 44 | 11 (October) | 65 | 10 (July) |
| 2011 | 59 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 3 (March) | 61 | 15 (April) |
| 2012 | 45 | 8 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 41 | 10 (June) | 59 | 4 (October) |
| 2013 | 48 | 8 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 41 | 11 (February) | 53 | 8 (June) |
| 2014 | 22 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 11 (September) | 49 | 5 (April) |
| 2015 | 40 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 2 (June) | 41 | 5 (April) |
| 2016 | 35 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 34 | 4 (October) | 48 | 8 (February) |
| 2017 | 27 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 27 | 7 (July) | 42 | 5 (April) |
| 2018 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 9 (April) | 24 | 7 (June) |
| 2019 | 27 | 2 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 3 (June) | 28 | 4 (July) |
| 2020 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 1 (September) | 27 |  0 (December) |
| 2021 | 30 | 4 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 3 (December) | 30 | 4 (November) |
| 2022 | 30 | 3 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 30 | 5 (June) | 36 | 6 (February) |
| 2023 | 28 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 4 (November) | 32 | 3 (October) |
| 2024 | 52 | 9 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 36 | 5 (September) | 52 | 13 (February) |
Wadie Jary, the president of theTunisian Football Federation, claimed that there was a bias against Tunisia following their controversial quarter-final defeat to Equatorial Guinea on 31 January 2015. He was banned from CAF competitions and activities.[325]Rajindraparsad Seechurn, the Mauritian referee who gave a penalty to Equatorial Guinea in that match, was banned from officiating for six months and removed from CAF's elite register of referees.[326] The Tunisian FA was fined $50,000 for confronting the referee during the match, in addition to damage to changing room facilities, while Equatorial Guinea was fined $5,000 for inadequate security at the stadium.[326]
The match between Tunisia andMali, the first meeting ofGroup F, was not played to completion. Zambian refereeJanny Sikazwe initially whistled the end of the match in the 86th minute before changing his mind, warned by his assistant referee and the protests of the Tunisian players. He then signaled the end of the game in the 90th minute, seconds from the end of regulation time,[327] just as the assistant referee was about to announce added time. In front of the furious Tunisians, the refereeing quartet had to leave the field under police escort.
Given the extent of the controversy, the resumption of the match, to play the remaining additional time, was announced. However, the Tunisian team refused to resume the match, claiming that the players were already in the showers, or out of the stadium, therefore unfit to resume the game. The Malians having presented themselves on the lawn, the end of the match is whistled with only one team on the ground, the result of 1–0 being ratified later by CAF.[328]
Later, it was reported by different media that the referee Janny Sikazwe had in fact suffered a sunstroke in the middle of the game, so much so that he was even taken to the hospital, from where the presence of the fourth referee on the pitch at the time of the attempt to restart the match.[329] According to the Tunisian playerWahbi Khazri, the referee of the match "was no longer coherent", "the referee lost the thread of the match" specified the Tunisian captain. "He was no longer consistent in his choices and decisions. He was very hot."
At the end of October 2022, an internal dispute concerning the Minister of Youth and Sports, Kamel Deguiche, and the president of thefederation, Wadie Jary, threatens Tunisia's participation in the World Cup.[330] Indeed, the two men are known to hate each other and the first wishes to dissolve the federation to separate from the second.[331]FIFA systematically penalizes cases of interference in the world of football, it therefore warns the Tunisian federation: by means of a letter, it warns that it reserves the right to exclude Tunisia from the competition in case of taking power over the federation by Deguiche.[332]
Dozens of news websites in Tunisia reported that coachJalel Kadri was subjected to pressure during the formation of the Tunisian team's squad for the2022 World Cup, according to the playerSaad Bguir, who was excluded from the final list and who was on the initial list.[333] He also announced his international retirement through a phone call on the TV program Stade Plus on Carthage Plus, until the president of theTunisian Football Federation, Wadie Jary, left his position.[334] It started whenBilel Ifa was excluded from the list a day before the official announcement, and was later brought back after fans outraged on social media. On 14 November 2022, hundreds of fans greeted the team bus inDoha upon their arrival, but the president of theFederation was insulted in the worst terms.
Also, the selection of four goalkeepers was under pressure from theTunisian Football Federation to meet the wishes of certain teams on the financial level, FIFA, since the2010 FIFA World Cup, paying a subsidy to each. team, of which at least one player has been called up in each edition of the competition. On 28 November 2022, former national team playerIssam Jemâa said onRadio IFM,[335] that TFF officials had sacrificed one of the players to call four goalkeepers into the final list, as the choice was onBilel Ifa, who returned to the team after the anger of the fans,Taha Yassine Khenissi, who was medically examined for two hours, so they could find him injured orSeifeddine Jaziri, who was called up due of financial transactions between him and the brother of the president of the TFF, Wajih Jary. In the final,Saad Bguir was abandoned.[336]
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