Tunisia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

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Tunisia, which only has to intervene in the second round, meets Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea and Zambia. With four wins, a draw and a defeat, the third round is reached, but this is not effective until the day of the last match.^[4] The third round is played over two legs and Tunisia take on Mali, the only third-round contender who has never qualified for a World Cup. In the first leg, they took the lead over Mali in the 36th minute thanks to an own goal from Moussa Sissako,^[5] who received a red card four minutes later.^[6] The Tunisians finished 1–0, so a goalless draw in the second leg was enough for them to qualify.^[7] A total of 29 players are used; twenty of them are also in the squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, during which Tunisia are eliminated in the quarter-finals. Only Aïssa Laïdouni and Ali Maâloul have played all eight matches.^[8] Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane plays seven games, but is not used in the first game. Farouk Ben Mustapha is the goalkeeper in all second round matches, but Bechir Ben Saïd, who is making his Africa Cup debut, plays in the third round. Sebastian Tounekti (one game) makes his first international appearance in qualifying.^[9] The top scorer is captain Wahbi Khazri with three goals, all scored in the second round.^[10] He received a second yellow card in the last match of the second round and was replaced by Youssef Msakni in the third round.^[11] In total, eight players have scored at least one goal, plus an own goal by a Malian player, which allows Tunisia to qualify for the World Cup.

The draw for the ten groups will be held on 21 January 2020 in Cairo. The teams are divided into four pots according to their FIFA ranking.^[12] The second round was supposed to start in March 2020,^[13] but is postponed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and does not start until September 2021.^[14] On 3 September 2021, the national team begins its matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.^[15] Tunisia wins the first three matches without conceding a goal, against Equatorial Guinea in Radès 3–0,^[16] against Zambia in Ndola 2–0 and against Mauritania 3–0,^[17] followed by a draw against the latter in Nouakchott 0–0 and a defeat against Equatorial Guinea in Malabo 0–1,^[18][19] which postpones the qualification for the next round on the last day.^[20] Coach Mondher Kebaier faces heavy criticism from fans.^[21] This time the team's opponent is Equatorial Guinea. If the two countries are level on points before the last match,^[22] Equatorial Guinea draw 1–1 against Mauritania^[23] while Tunisia secures first place in its group with a victory 3–1 over Zambia,^[24] qualification for the third round being achieved on 16 November,^[25] Tunisia concluding the pool matches with four wins, one draw and one loss.^[26] During the three matches which take place at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, all are played behind closed doors due to the health protocol of the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular the match of the last day against Zambia, which the public had to attend before the refusal of the Confederation of African Football.^[27]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tunisia	6	4	1	1	11	2	+9	13	Advance to third round
2	Equatorial Guinea	6	3	2	1	6	5	+1	11
3	Zambia	6	2	1	3	8	9	−1	7
4	Mauritania	6	0	2	4	2	11	−9	2

The matches are knockout round robin matches. The five winners of the confrontations are qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The draw for the third round, initially scheduled for 18 December takes place on 22 January 2022 in Douala,^[28] during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Mondher Kebaier is sacked following the elimination of Tunisia in the quarter of final at the African Cup of Nations and replaced by Jalel Kadri.^[29] In the first leg at the Stade du 26 Mars in Bamako, Tunisia won 1–0 thanks to an own goal by Moussa Sissako on pressure from Msakni.^[30] As for the return match at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, in front of 50,000 spectators, it ended in a draw 0–0,^[31] so that the team qualified for the World Cup for the sixth time in its history.^[32]

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The draw for the final phase of the 2022 World Cup takes place on 1 April 2022 at the Doha Exhibition Centre. Tunisia are assigned to Pot 3 and could be drawn against defending champions Brazil, France, Germany or hosts Qatar. Tunisia meet France, Denmark and Australia in Group D.

The Tunisians haven't scored against any of these teams in their previous World Cup appearances. There have been four friendlies against France, two draws and two losses, and the Tunisians have faced the France B team twice at the Mediterranean Games, winning and losing once. They lost to Denmark at the 1960 Summer Olympics and in preparation for the 2002 World Cup; they also lost to Australia in a friendly match and won the 2005 Confederations Cup.

reparations start early, as the team plays two matches for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, the first against Equatorial Guinea in Radès 4–0 victory and the second against Botswana in Francistown draw 0–0.^[33][34] Subsequently, the team is set to play the 2022 Kirin Cup Soccer in Japan from 10 to 14 June 2022,^[35] with the participation of three other teams: Japan, Chile and Ghana.^[36] In the semi-finals, Tunisia beat Chile 2–0 and then Japan 3–0 and thus won the title for the first time.^[37]

Ferjani Sassi was named the tournament's best player,^[38] while his compatriot Issam Jebali finished top scorer with two goals.^[39] After that, the team played two friendlies: the first against Comoros, which ended in victory 1–0,^[40] and the second which ended in a heavy loss against Brazil 5–1.^[41] The Carthage Eagles end their preparations with a victory against Iran 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 the Iranian federation.^[42]

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Tunisia announced their final squad on 14 November 2022.^[43]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Aymen Mathlouthi	(1984-09-14)14 September 1984 (aged 38)	73	0	Étoile du Sahel
2	2DF	Bilel Ifa	(1990-03-09)9 March 1990 (aged 32)	37	0	Kuwait SC
3	2DF	Montassar Talbi	(1998-05-26)26 May 1998 (aged 24)	23	1	Lorient
4	2DF	Yassine Meriah	(1993-07-02)2 July 1993 (aged 29)	61	3	Espérance de Tunis
5	3MF	Nader Ghandri	(1995-02-18)18 February 1995 (aged 27)	8	0	Club Africain
6	2DF	Dylan Bronn	(1995-06-19)19 June 1995 (aged 27)	36	2	Salernitana
7	4FW	Youssef Msakni (captain)	(1990-10-28)28 October 1990 (aged 32)	88	17	Al-Arabi
8	3MF	Hannibal Mejbri	(2003-01-21)21 January 2003 (aged 19)	19	0	Birmingham City
9	4FW	Issam Jebali	(1991-12-25)25 December 1991 (aged 30)	10	2	OB
10	4FW	Wahbi Khazri	(1991-02-08)8 February 1991 (aged 31)	72	24	Montpellier
11	4FW	Taha Yassine Khenissi	(1992-01-06)6 January 1992 (aged 30)	48	9	Kuwait SC
12	2DF	Ali Maâloul	(1990-01-01)1 January 1990 (aged 32)	83	2	Al Ahly
13	3MF	Ferjani Sassi	(1992-03-18)18 March 1992 (aged 30)	78	6	Al-Duhail
14	3MF	Aïssa Laïdouni	(1996-12-13)13 December 1996 (aged 25)	25	1	Ferencváros
15	3MF	Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane	(1999-09-06)6 September 1999 (aged 23)	23	1	Espérance de Tunis
16	1GK	Aymen Dahmen	(1997-01-28)28 January 1997 (aged 25)	5	0	CS Sfaxien
17	3MF	Ellyes Skhiri	(1995-05-10)10 May 1995 (aged 27)	49	3	1. FC Köln
18	3MF	Ghailene Chaalali	(1994-02-28)28 February 1994 (aged 28)	31	1	Espérance de Tunis
19	4FW	Seifeddine Jaziri	(1993-02-12)12 February 1993 (aged 29)	29	10	Zamalek
20	2DF	Mohamed Dräger	(1996-06-25)25 June 1996 (aged 26)	34	3	Luzern
21	2DF	Wajdi Kechrida	(1995-11-05)5 November 1995 (aged 27)	19	0	Atromitos
22	1GK	Bechir Ben Saïd	(1992-11-29)29 November 1992 (aged 29)	10	0	US Monastir
23	4FW	Naïm Sliti	(1992-07-27)27 July 1992 (aged 30)	69	14	Al-Ettifaq
24	2DF	Ali Abdi	(1993-12-20)20 December 1993 (aged 28)	10	2	Caen
25	4FW	Anis Ben Slimane	(2001-03-16)16 March 2001 (aged 21)	25	4	Brøndby
26	1GK	Mouez Hassen	(1995-03-05)5 March 1995 (aged 27)	20	0	Club Africain

Italian company Kappa unveils the national team uniform on 29 September 2022.^[44] The front decorations of the shirt form the shield of Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca.^[45]

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Goalkeeper 1

Goalkeeper 2

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In the first match in Group D, Mohamed Dräger threatens the opponent's goal, then Issam Jebali dominates Kasper 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.^[46] Christian Eriksen then makes an attempt beyond the goal line, but Aymen Dahmen is illustrated with a save.^[47] 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.^[48] Thanks to his performance in this match, Aïssa Laïdouni receives the man of the match award.^[49]

In the second match, the team are led to a 1–0 loss against Australia,^[50] with the technical framework and the players receiving criticism due to the weakness of the midfield and the attack,^[51] which reduces the chances of Tunisia to qualify for the round of 16. In the final game against world champions France, Wahbi Khazri put Tunisia ahead in the 58th minute with a low shot to the bottom right corner.^[52] At this stage, Tunisia is in a position to qualify in the group. However, two minutes later, Australia took the lead against Denmark in the other match, which sent Tunisia out of the knockout stage.^[53] Captain Khazri wins the Man of the Match award.^[54] 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 in 1978 FIFA World Cup (three points). In this context, Wahbi Khazri is retiring from international retirement,^[55] after 74 games in which he scored 25 goals.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Australia	3	2	0	1	3	4	−1	6
3	Tunisia	3	1	1	1	1	1	0	4
4	Denmark	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2	1

In the round of 16:

• The winners of Group D, France, advanced to play the runners-up of Group C, Poland.
• The runners-up of Group D, Australia, advanced to play the winners of Group C, Argentina.

The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in 2002, a 2–1 win for Denmark in a friendly game. Denmark were not able to capitalize in their opening game; although Tunisia failed to score a single goal themselves, they still managed to secure their match without problems, with Aïssa Laïdouni earning the Man of the Match.^[56]

Denmark

Tunisia

GK 1 Kasper Schmeichel CB 2 Joachim Andersen CB 4 Simon Kjær (c)  65' CB 6 Andreas Christensen DM 8 Thomas Delaney  45+1' CM 23 Pierre-Emile Højbjerg CM 10 Christian Eriksen RW 13 Rasmus Kristensen  24' LW 5 Joakim Mæhle CF 11 Andreas Skov Olsen  65' CF 12 Kasper Dolberg  65' Substitutions: MF 14 Mikkel Damsgaard  45+1' FW 21 Andreas Cornelius  65' MF 7 Mathias Jensen  78'  65' MF 25 Jesper Lindstrøm  65' Manager: Kasper Hjulmand

GK 16 Aymen Dahmen CB 6 Dylan Bronn CB 4 Yassine Meriah CB 3 Montassar Talbi RM 20 Mohamed Dräger  88' CM 17 Ellyes Skhiri CM 14 Aïssa Laïdouni  88' LM 24 Ali Abdi AM 25 Anis Ben Slimane  67' AM 7 Youssef Msakni (c)  80' CF 9 Issam Jebali  80' Substitutions: FW 23 Naïm Sliti  67' MF 8 Hannibal Mejbri  80' FW 11 Taha Yassine Khenissi  86'  80' DF 21 Wajdi Kechrida  88' MF 13 Ferjani Sassi  88' Manager: Jalel Kadri

Man of the Match: Aïssa Laïdouni (Tunisia)[57] Assistant referees: Alberto Morín (Mexico) Miguel Hernández (Mexico) Fourth official: Saíd Martínez (Honduras) Reserve assistant referee: Walter López (Honduras) Video assistant referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico) Assistant video assistant referees: Armando Villarreal (United States) Gabriel Chade (Argentina) Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain) Stand-by assistant video assistant referee: Mahmoud Abouelregal (Egypt)

The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in Tunisia's 2–0 win at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Australia beat Tunisia 1–0 as a result of a Mitchell Duke header in the 23rd minute to secure their first win in a World Cup match since they defeated Serbia 2–1 in 2010. This was also Australia's first clean sheet since they drew 0–0 with Chile in 1974.^[58]

Tunisia

Australia

GK 16 Aymen Dahmen CB 6 Dylan Bronn  73' CB 4 Yassine Meriah CB 3 Montassar Talbi RM 20 Mohamed Dräger  46' CM 17 Ellyes Skhiri CM 14 Aïssa Laïdouni  26'  67' LM 24 Ali Abdi  64' AM 23 Naïm Sliti AM 7 Youssef Msakni (c) CF 9 Issam Jebali  73' Substitutions: MF 13 Ferjani Sassi  90+3'  46' FW 10 Wahbi Khazri  67' DF 21 Wajdi Kechrida  73' FW 11 Taha Yassine Khenissi  73' Manager: Jalel Kadri

GK 1 Mathew Ryan (c) RB 5 Fran Karačić  75' CB 19 Harry Souttar CB 4 Kye Rowles LB 16 Aziz Behich DM 13 Aaron Mooy CM 22 Jackson Irvine CM 14 Riley McGree  64' RF 7 Mathew Leckie  85' CF 15 Mitchell Duke  64' LF 23 Craig Goodwin  85' Substitutions: FW 9 Jamie Maclaren  64' MF 10 Ajdin Hrustic  64' DF 2 Miloš Degenek  75' FW 11 Awer Mabil  85' MF 26 Keanu Baccus  85' Manager: Graham Arnold

Man of the Match: Mitchell Duke (Australia)[59] Assistant referees: Rafael Foltyn (Germany) Jan Seidel (Germany) Fourth official: Saíd Martínez (Honduras) Reserve assistant referee: Karen Díaz Medina (Mexico) Video assistant referee: Bastian Dankert (Germany) Assistant video assistant referees: Marco Fritz (Germany) Corey Parker (United States) Pol van Boekel (Netherlands) Stand-by assistant video assistant referee: Kathryn Nesbitt (United States)

The two teams had faced each other four times, most recently in 2010 friendly, a 1–1 draw.

Wahbi Khazri put Tunisia into the lead in the 58th minute with a low shot to the bottom right corner. At that stage, Tunisia was in a position to qualify from the group. However, two minutes later Australia went in front against Denmark in the other match taking place at the same time, which put Tunisia outside of the qualifying positions.^[60] In added time, Antoine Griezmann scored to seemingly make it 1–1 with a volley but the goal was ruled out by VAR for offside. Australia went on to beat Denmark, which meant that Tunisia finished third in the group and failed to get into the knockout stage for the sixth consecutive World Cup.^[61]

Tunisia

France

GK 16 Aymen Dahmen CB 4 Yassine Meriah CB 5 Nader Ghandri CB 3 Montassar Talbi RM 21 Wajdi Kechrida  28' CM 17 Ellyes Skhiri CM 14 Aïssa Laïdouni LM 12 Ali Maâloul RW 25 Anis Ben Slimane  83' LW 15 Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane  74' CF 10 Wahbi Khazri (c)  60' Substitutions: FW 9 Issam Jebali  60' MF 18 Ghailene Chaalali  74' DF 24 Ali Abdi  83' Manager: Jalel Kadri

GK 16 Steve Mandanda RB 3 Axel Disasi CB 4 Raphaël Varane (c)  63' CB 24 Ibrahima Konaté LB 25 Eduardo Camavinga RM 13 Youssouf Fofana  73' CM 8 Aurélien Tchouaméni CM 15 Jordan Veretout  63' LM 6 Matteo Guendouzi  79' CF 20 Kingsley Coman  63' CF 12 Randal Kolo Muani Substitutions: DF 17 William Saliba  63' FW 10 Kylian Mbappé  63' MF 14 Adrien Rabiot  63' FW 7 Antoine Griezmann  73' FW 11 Ousmane Dembélé  79' Manager: Didier Deschamps

Man of the Match: Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia)[62] Assistant referees: Mark Rule (New Zealand) Tevita Makasini (Tonga) Fourth official: Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda) Reserve assistant referee: Neuza Back (Brazil) Video assistant referee: Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar) Assistant video assistant referees: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore) Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar) Fernando Guerrero (Mexico) Stand-by assistant video assistant referee: Saud Al-Maqaleh (Qatar)

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Players				TT			MJ	MT	Legend
Goalkeepers
Aymen Mathlouthi	–	–	–	–	–	–	0	0	TT : Total minutes played MJ : Number of matches played MT : Matches played as a starter  : Goal  : Assist  : Player on  : Player off  : Captain  : Yellow card  : Red card
Aymen Dahmen	90	90	90	270	–	–	3	3
Bechir Ben Saïd	–	–	–	–	–	–	0	0
Mouez Hassen	–	–	–	–	–	–	0	0
Defenders
Bilel Ifa	–	–	–	–	–	–	0	0
Montassar Talbi	90	90	90	270	–	–	3	3
Yassine Meriah	90	90	90	270	–	–	3	3
Nader Ghandri	–	–	90	90	–	–	1	1
Dylan Bronn	90	73	–	163	–	–	2	2
Ali Maâloul	–	–	90	90	–	–	1	1
Mohamed Dräger	88	46	–	134	–	–	2	2
Wajdi Kechrida	2	17	90	109	–	–	3	1
Ali Abdi	90	90	83	263	–	–	3	2
Midfielders
Hannibal Mejbri	10	–	–	10	–	–	1	0
Ferjani Sassi	2	44	–	46	–	–	2	0
Aïssa Laïdouni	88	67	90	245	–	1	3	3
Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane	–	–	74	74	–	–	1	1
Ellyes Skhiri	90	90	90	270	–	–	3	3
Ghailene Chaalali	–	–	74	74	–	–	1	0
Anis Ben Slimane	67	–	83	150	–	–	2	2
Forwards
Youssef Msakni	80	90	–	170	–	–	2	2
Issam Jebali	80	73	60	213	–	–	3	2
Wahbi Khazri	–	23	60	83	1	–	2	1
Taha Yassine Khenissi	10	17	–	27	–	–	2	0
Seifeddine Jaziri	–	–	–	–	–	–	0	0
Naïm Sliti	23	90	–	113	–	–	2	1
Total
Tunisia	90	90	90	270	1	1	–	–