Tunisia — World Cup 2026 Squad & Fixtures

Tunisia have appeared at six World Cups without advancing past the group stage, though their 1978 draw with West Germany on their debut, a 0-0 result against the reigning champions, established them as a competitive African side. Their first World Cup win came in 2018, a 2-1 victory over Panama that ended a 40-year wait and finally gave Tunisian fans a tournament result to celebrate. The 2022 campaign produced a draw with Denmark and a loss to Australia, another group-stage exit that extended a record of competitiveness without progression. Six qualifications across five decades show consistent competitiveness in African football without the decisive result needed to reach the knockout round.

Tunisia qualified through the CAF pathway, winning a group that included regional rivals and then a decisive playoff that required extra time. The campaign was built on defensive organisation, Tunisia conceded fewer goals than any team in their group, and the counter-attacking quality that has defined recent squads. Manager Montasser Louhichi's pressing structure allows Tunisia to compete without the ball, a pragmatic approach that suits a team whose attacking quality does not match its defensive discipline.

Tunisia's tournament pattern, competitive but not progressive, will only change if they can score enough goals to convert draws into wins and narrow losses into draws. Group F pairs them with the Netherlands, Japan, and Sweden, three opponents with more recent World Cup experience and more attacking quality. Tunisia's defensive discipline can keep matches close, but the attacking step required to win them has been missing across six previous tournaments. A point from the Netherlands or Japan would be the programme's best World Cup result against non-African opposition.

Hannibal Mejbri plays in midfield with a tenacity that disrupts opposition build-up and a passing range that starts Tunisia's counter-attacks: his pressing intensity sets the tone for the team's defensive structure. Elias Achouri provides width on the flank and delivery into the box that gives Tunisia's forwards chances they cannot create for themselves: his pace on the outside shoulder is the team's most consistent open-play threat.