Tunisia have never reached the knockout stages of the World Cup and will miss out yet again. They’ve bowed out at the group stage in each of their seven appearances so far.
The 1-5 loss to Sweden in their opening match set the tone for what was to come. Yet another four-goal thrashing at the hands of Japan and the Eagles of Carthage are eliminated from contention.
Get all the latest Tunisia stats as the tournament unfolds plus the latest squad, manager and fixture information for the African side here.
Tunisia route to the World Cup
Tunisia sealed qualification for their seventh World Cup – and a third consecutive appearance – with an emphatic campaign in CAF Group H.
They amassed 28 points from a possible 30, winning nine of their 10 matches and drawing the other, while scoring 22 goals and recording a perfect ten clean sheets.
Tunisia World Cup 2026 fixtures
Tunisia’s first match at the 2026 World Cup was against Sweden at the Estadio BBVA, and they were utterly humiliated by the Scandinavians amid a defensive disasterclass.
The same thing happened once again when they faced Japan at the same stadium. The clash against the Netherlands on 26th June at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City doesn’t look to promising, considering the Dutch are coming off a four-goal win of their own against the Swedish.
READ MORE: Get the latest Tunisia World Cup 2026 outright odds here
Tunisia World Cup 2026 stats
Tunisia key players for World Cup 2026
Tunisia top World Cup Golden Boot contender: Hazem Mastouri
- Key stat: Scored the opening goal in a 1-1 draw against Brazil last November.
Hazem Mastouri has scored four goals in 12 matches for Tunisia, having only made his debut for the national team in late 2024. He scored the opening goal in a 1-1 draw against Brazil.
Omar Rekik has scored their only goal in the World Cup so far and it may very well be the last, depending on what happens against the Netherlands.
Tunisia creative dark horse: Ali Abdi
- Key stat: The left-back has nine goal involvements in his last 15 caps for his country.
Ali Abdi has been showing his attacking prowess in recent times for Tunisia with the left-back chipping in with five goals and four assists in the last 18 months. Three of those assists came in qualifying, and he also set up Hazem Mastouri’s goal against Brazil.
Tunisia card magnet: Hannibal Mejbri
- Key stat: Was named the African Revelation of the Year in both 2021 and 2022.
Hannibal Mejbri is closing in on 50 international caps despite having just turned 23. The energetic midfielder currently plies his trade in the Premier League with Burnley, having previously played for Manchester United and spent time on loan at Sevilla. Has been known to pick up a few yellow cards.
Tunisia rising star: Ismael Gharbi
- Key Stat: Only earned his first Tunisia cap in 2025.
Aged 21, Ismael Gharbi began his playing career at PSG where he learnt from the best of the best in Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar, and won two league titles. He can be mesmerising to watch on the ball with his jukebox of tricks and skills.
STAND-OUT STAT: Tunisia didn’t concede a single goal in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, winning nine and drawing one of their ten matches.
Set-piece specialists
- Penalties: Ali Abdi, Ismael Gharbi, Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane
- Free kicks: Hannibal Mejbri
- Corners: Hannibal Mejbri, Ali Abdi
Tunisia tactical analysis and formation
Tunisia team stats (average per game from last four matches):
- Corners: 6.75
- Shots on target: 3.50
- Shots on target conceded: 2.25
- Offsides: 1.75
Tunisia’s recent run of managerial changes added a layer of uncertainty to how they may line up before the 2026 World Cup. And the sacking of Sabri Lamouchi after the first game was just further evidence of that.
Under former head coach Sami Trabelsi, Tunisia enjoyed a flawless end to their qualifying campaign. The Eagles of Carthage won six straight matches while scoring 16 goals and conceding none. That momentum, however, failed to carry into tournament football at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. They were knocked out by Mali in the last-16 despite playing against ten men from the 26th minute onwards.
Trabelsi predominantly alternated between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 during both qualifying and Africa Cup of Nations.
His pragmatic successor, Sabri Lamouchi, changed things up to a three-at-the-back set that wasn’t enough to hold off Sweden. Herve Renard maintained the three defenders against Japan but also to no success.
Get the latest Tunisia World Cup goals, assists, shots, passes and tackle stats here
Tunisia manager analysis
Tunisia decided to make a managerial change at the start of 2026, replacing Sami Trabelsi with Sabri Lamouchi following their Afcon last-16 defeat by Mali. Trabelsi himself had only been in charge of the national team since February 2025.
Lamouchi only took charge of five games before getting the sack himself. Now we wonder what could happen to Herve Renard after a four-goal loss of his own in his debut.
Tunisia World Cup FAQs
Where did Tunisia finish at the last World Cup?
Tunisia’s journey at the 2022 World Cup ended in the group stages, where they narrowly missed out on a top-2 finish. They did, however, shock defending champions France 1-0 in their final match of the tournament.
Who will be Tunisia captain at the World Cup?
Tunisia are captained by experienced midfielder Ferjani Sassi.
Who is Tunisia’s all-time top goalscorer at World Cups?
Wahbi Khazri is Tunisia’s top all-time goalscorer at World Cups, scoring three
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