Tunisia FIFA World Cup 2026 Preview: Player to watch out for, tactics, predicted playing time

Tunisia goes into the 2026 FIFA World Cup with one goal: to get past the group stage.

The Eagles of Carthage were the first African country in the tournament’s history to win, against Mexico in 1978.

Since then, they have reached the final six more times (including 2026) and are joint second with Morocco for the most World Cup appearances for a country from ‘The Mother Continent’. But each of those previous campaigns ended in disappointment for Tunisia as they failed to overcome the first hurdle, recording just three wins in the 18 matches across all editions.

But this time, a fantastic qualifying campaign, which saw them become the first team not to concede a single goal in ten games (nine wins and one draw), will certainly bring optimism despite being in the group with the big players Netherlands, Japan and Sweden.

In addition, manager Sabri Lamouchi has made significant changes to the squad, meaning fresher faces have boarded a plane to North America. Ferjani Sassi, Ali Maaloul and Yassine Meriah, who were all part of the team that crashed out in the AFCON 2025 round of 16, have been left out despite having almost 300 caps between them.

Instead, Elias Achouri (FC Copenhagen), Ali Abdi (OGC Nice), Ellyes Skhiri (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley) have been selected, all of whom are playing in Europe’s top divisions this season. Meanwhile, Rani Khedira, brother of Germany’s 2014 World Cup winner Sami Khedira, is also in the squad after switching his allegiance to the North African country earlier this year.

Tunisia will be looking to put losses at the hands of Austria and Belgium in the warm-up matches behind them as they aim for a first knockout place in the final.

Player to watch out for

Hannibal Mejbri: The 23-year-old is the most recognizable name in the Tunisia squad, not only because of his huge flowing afro, but also because of his association with English giants Manchester United and, more recently, Championship-bound Burnley. Despite a disappointing season, Hannibal has the ability to switch between a playmaker on the ball and an aggressive presser off it, becoming the core of the Tunisian midfield.

Manager

Like Tunisia, Sabri Lamouchi will look to progress beyond the group stages for the first time, having failed to do so in 2014 with an Ivory Coast team that had the services of superstars like Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and more. Guiding Tunisia will certainly be a much tougher task for the 54-year-old, who has played just four matches before the tournament and won just one. Furthermore, his gamble to revamp the squad in such a short space of time will increase the pressure on the former France international.

TEAM

• Goalkeepers: Sabri Ben Hassan, Abdelmouhib Chamakh, Aymen Dahmene
• Defenders: Ali Abdi, Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida, Adem Arous, Dylan Bronn, Raed Chikhaoui, Moutaz Neffati, Omar Rekik, Montassar Talbi, Yan Valery
• Midfielders: Mortadha Ben Ouanes, Anis Ben Slimane, Ismael Gharbi, Rani Khedira, Hadj Mahmoud, Hannibal Mejbri, Ellyes Skhiri
• Forward: Elias Achouri, Khalil Ayari, Firas Chaouat, Rayan Elloumi, Hazem Mastouri, Elias Saad, Sebastian Tounekti

Published on June 8, 2026