Tunisia national football team

Tunisia
Nickname(s) Les Aigles de Carthage
(Eagles of Carthage)
Association Tunisian Football Federation
Sub-confederation UNAF (North Africa)
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach Belgium Georges Leekens
Captain Yassine Chikhaoui
Most caps Radhi Jaïdi (105)
Top scorer Issam Jemâa (36)
Home stadium Stade Olympique de Radès
FIFA code TUN
FIFA ranking 30 Decrease 5 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 19 (February 1998)
Lowest FIFA ranking 65 (July 2010)
Elo ranking 63
Highest Elo ranking 24 (June 1978)
Lowest Elo ranking 103 (July 1988)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Tunisia 1–2 Algeria 
(Tunisia; 25 June 1957)
Biggest win
 Tunisia 7–0 Togo 
(Tunis, Tunisia; 7 January 2000)
 Tunisia 7–0 Malawi 
(Tunis, Tunisia; 26 March 2005)
Biggest defeat
 Hungary 10–1 Tunisia Tunisia
(Hungary; 24 July 1960)
World Cup
Appearances 4 (First in 1978)
Best result Group Stage: 1978 9th place
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 16 (First in 1962)
Best result Winners: 2004
Confederations Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 2005)
Best result Round 1

The Tunisia national football team (Arabic: منتخب تونس لكرة القدم), nicknamed Les Aigles de Carthage (The Eagles of Carthage or The Carthage Eagles), is the national team of Tunisia and is controlled by the Tunisian Football Federation. They have qualified for four FIFA World Cups, the first one in 1978, but have yet to make it out of the first round. Nevertheless, they created history in that 1978 tournament in Argentina by becoming the first African side to win a World Cup match, beating Mexico 3–1. They also held defending champions West Germany to a goalless draw before bowing out. They have since qualified for the three tournaments in succession, in 1998, 2002 and 2006: they were the only African team to appear at both the 2002 and 2006 tournaments.

Tunisia also won the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, when they hosted the tournament.

1978 World Cup

Tunisia's first World Cup was the 1978 competition held in Argentina. They became the first African team to win a World Cup game, defeating Mexico 3–1 in Rosario.[1] A 1–0 defeat to 1974 semi-finalists Poland followed, but although The Eagles Of Carthage then held reigning champions West Germany to a 0–0 draw, they failed to reach the next stage. Tunisia failed to qualify for the World Cup again until twenty years later.

1998 World Cup

Adel Sellimi's team were beaten 2–0 by England,[2][3] and 1–0 by Colombia[4] to eliminate them at the group stage. Their only point was in a 1–1 draw with Romania.[5]

2002 World Cup

Tunisia reached their second successive World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. They started with a 2–0 loss against Russia, but a Raouf Bouzaiene free kick gave them a 1–1 draw against Belgium. Their final game resulted in a 2–0 defeat to co-hosts Japan, meaning they were knocked out in the group stages.

2004 Africa Cup of Nations

Tunisia's first major honour was the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, which they hosted. The tournament started with a 2–1 win over Rwanda in Rades. That was followed by a 3–0 win against DR Congo and a 1–1 draw with Guinea. The quarter-finals saw them beat Senegal 1–0, and the semi-final against favourites Nigeria went to penalties after both Jay-Jay Okocha and Tunisia captain Khaled Badra scored from the spot during normal time. Ali Boumnijel saved Peter Odemwingie's strike, and Karim Haggui scored the winning spot kick to send the host nation through to their third Nations Cup final. The final was against local rivals Morocco, and Brazilian-born striker Francileudo Santos put The Eagles Of Carthage 1–0 ahead on 4 minutes, Morocco equalised just before half-time, but Ziad Jaziri made the score 2–1 on 51 minutes to win the tournament for Tunisia.

2006 World Cup

Tunisia drew their opening game against Saudi Arabia 2–2, but lost their second match to Spain 3–1 and lost their last group match to Ukraine with a 1–0 defeat ending their 2006 World Cup.

Competition records

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 to
Sweden 1958
Did Not Enter
Chile 1962 Did Not Qualify
England 1966 Withdrew
Mexico 1970 to
West Germany 1974
Did Not Qualify
Argentina 1978 Group Stage 9th 3 1 1 1 3 2
Spain 1982 to
United States 1994
Did Not Qualify
France 1998 Group Stage 26th 3 0 1 2 1 4
South Korea Japan 2002 Group Stage 29th 3 0 1 2 1 5
Germany 2006 Group Stage 24th 3 0 1 2 3 6
South Africa 2010 Did Not Qualify
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018
Qatar 2022
Total Group Stage 4/20 12 1 4 7 8 17

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Squad
Saudi Arabia 1992 Did Not Qualify
Saudi Arabia 1995
Saudi Arabia 1997
Mexico 1999
South Korea Japan 2001
France 2003
Germany 2005Group Stage6th310235Squad
South Africa 2009Did Not Qualify
Brazil 2013
Russia 2017To Be Determined
Qatar 2021
Total Group Stage 1/8 3 1 0 2 3 5 -

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations record
Appearances : 17
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Sudan 1957 Did not enter
United Arab Republic 1959
Ethiopia 1962Third Place 3rd210154
Ghana 1963Group Stage 5th201135
Tunisia 1965Runner-up 2nd311163
Ethiopia 1968Did not qualify
Sudan 1970 Did not enter
Cameroon 1972
Egypt 1974
Ethiopia 1976Did not qualify
Ghana 1978Fourth Place4th513154
Nigeria 1980Withdrew
Libya 1982Group Stage 7th301214
Ivory Coast 1984 Did not qualify
Egypt 1986
Morocco 1988
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992
Tunisia 1994Group Stage9th201113
South Africa 1996 Runner-up2nd6222109
Burkina Faso 1998Quarter-finals5th421165
Ghana Nigeria 2000Fourth Place4th622269
Mali 2002Group Stage11th302101
Tunisia 2004Champions1st6420104
Egypt 2006Quarter-finals6th421175
Ghana 2008Quarter-finals5th412176
Angola 2010Group Stage12th303033
GabonEquatorial Guinea 2012Quarter-finals6th420255
South Africa 2013Group Stage12th311124
Equatorial Guinea 2015Quarter-finals7th412155
Gabon 2017To be determined
Cameroon 2019
Ivory Coast 2021
Guinea 2023
Total1 Title17/30642025198279

Arab Nations Cup record

Arab Nations Cup record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA
Lebanon 1963 Champions 4 4 0 0 11 1
Jordan 1988 Group Stage 4 0 3 1 3 4

Personnel

Coaching Staff

Position Name
Head coach Belgium Georges Leekens
Assistant Coach Tunisia Hatem Misaoui
Goalkeeping Coach Tunisia Adel Zouita
Fitness Coach Tunisia Irad Zaafouri
Tunisia Jalel Herguli
Doctor Tunisia Souhail Chamli
Masseurs Tunisia Hbiri Akrem
Tunisia Majdi Turki
Tunisia Fathi Naoui
Nutritionist Tunisia Anis Yaacoubi

Managers

[6]

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

This is a list of matches from the last six months and any future scheduled matches.

Date Location Opponent Score Competition
5 March 2014 Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, Barcelona  Colombia 1–1 Friendly
28 May 2014 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul  South Korea 1–0 Friendly
7 June 2014 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels  Belgium 0–1 Friendly
6 September 2014 Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir  Botswana 2–1 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
10 September 2014 30 June Stadium, Cairo  Egypt 1–0 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
10 October 2014 Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar  Senegal 0–0 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
15 October 2014 Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir  Senegal 1–0 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
14 November 2014 Botswana National Stadium, Gaborone  Botswana 0–0 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
19 November 2014 Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir  Egypt 2–1 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
11 January 2015 Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès  Algeria 1–1 Friendly
18 January 2015 Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín  Cape Verde 1–1 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
22 January 2015 Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín  Zambia 2–1 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
26 January 2015 Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín  DR Congo 1–1 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
31 January 2015 Estadio de Bata, Bata  Equatorial Guinea 1–2 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
27 March 2015 Ōita Bank Dome, Ōita  Japan 0–2 Friendly
31 March 2015 Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre, China  China PR 1–1 Friendly

Players

Current Squad

The following players were called up to the squad for the international friendlies against Japan on 27 March and China on 31 March 2015.[7]
Caps and goals updated as 31 March 2015 after the match against China.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
GK Moez Ben Cherifia 24 June 1991 13 0 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
GK Farouk Ben Mustapha 1 July 1989 11 0 Tunisia Club Africain
GK Achraf Krir 0 0 Tunisia ES Zarzis
DF Aymen Abdennour 6 August 1989 42 1 France Monaco
DF Syam Ben Youssef 31 March 1989 18 0 Romania Astra Giurgiu
DF Ali Maâloul 1 January 1990 15 0 Tunisia CS Sfaxien
DF Hamza Mathlouthi 25 May 1992 14 0 Tunisia CA Bizertin
DF Mohamed Ali Yacoubi 5 October 1990 6 0 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
DF Chamseddine Dhaouadi 16 January 1987 4 0 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
DF Maher Hannachi 31 August 1984 2 0 Tunisia CS Sfaxien
DF Hatem Bejaoui 10 May 1986 1 0 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
GK Oussama Haddadi 28 January 1992 1 0 Tunisia Club Africain
MF Hocine Ragued 11 February 1983 53 0 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
MF Yassine Chikhaoui 22 September 1986 37 6 Switzerland Zürich
MF Wahbi Khazri 8 February 1991 17 6 France Bordeaux
MF Ferjani Sassi 18 March 1992 16 1 France Metz
MF Stéphane Nater 20 January 1984 12 0 Tunisia Club Africain
MF Änis Ben-Hatira 18 July 1988 8 0 Germany Hertha Berlin
MF Mohamed Ali Manser 28 April 1991 7 2 Tunisia CS Sfaxien
MF Mohamed Gouaida 15 May 1993 2 0 Germany Hamburger SV
MF Mohamed Larbi 9 February 1987 2 0 France Gazélec Ajaccio
FW Saber Khalifa 14 October 1986 30 5 Tunisia Club Africain
FW Ahmed Akaïchi 23 February 1989 12 5 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
FW Taha Yassine Khenissi 6 January 1992 2 0 Tunisia CS Sfaxien
FW Yoann Touzghar 28 November 1986 0 0 France Lens

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Aymen Mathlouthi 14 September 1984 47 0 Tunisia Étoile du Sahel 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
GK Hamdi Kasraoui 18 January 1983 38 0 Tunisia Tunis v.  Belgium, 7 June 2014
GK Atef Dekhili 4 April 1990 0 0 Tunisia Club Africain v.  Belgium, 7 June 2014
DF Rami Bedoui 19 January 1990 5 0 Tunisia Étoile du Sahel 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Bilel Mohsni 21 July 1987 4 0 Scotland Rangers 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Selim Ben Djemia 29 January 1989 2 0 France Laval 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
DF Yassin Mikari 9 January 1983 32 1 Tunisia Club Africain 2015 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary squad
DF Alaeddine Yahia 26 September 1981 24 1 France Caen v.  Egypt, 19 November 2014
DF Bilel Ifa 9 March 1990 21 0 Tunisia Club Africain v.  Senegal, 15 October 2014
DF Mahmoud Ben Salah 6 May 1988 1 0 Tunisia Sfaxien v.  Egypt, 10 September 2014
DF Ali Abdi 20 December 1993 0 0 Tunisia Espérance v.  Egypt, 10 September 2014
DF Ammar Jemal 20 April 1987 28 6 Saudi Arabia Al-Fateh v.  Belgium, 7 June 2014
MF Youssef Msakni 28 October 1990 31 4 Qatar Lekhwiya 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Jamel Saihi 27 January 1987 18 2 France Montpellier 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
MF Wissem Ben Yahia 9 September 1984 37 3 Turkey Gaziantep BB v.  Egypt, 19 November 2014
MF Nidhal Said 15 January 1991 1 0 Tunisia Étoile du Sahel v.  Egypt, 19 November 2014
MF Khaled Korbi 16 December 1985 26 2 Tunisia Club Africain v.  Belgium, 7 June 2014
MF Saâd Bguir 22 March 1994 0 0 Tunisia Gabès v.  Belgium, 7 June 2014
MF Chadi Hammami 14 June 1986 28 1 Kuwait Al-Kuwait v.  Belgium, 7 June 2014
MF Zouheir Dhaouadi 1 January 1988 34 4 Tunisia Club Africain v.  Belgium, 7 June 2014
MF Fabien Camus 28 February 1985 2 0 France Évian v.  South Korea, 28 May 2014 (Injured)
FW Amine Chermiti 26 December 1987 37 6 Switzerland Zürich 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
FW Hamza Younés 16 April 1986 9 0 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
FW Edem Rjaïbi 5 April 1990 1 0 Tunisia Bizertin 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
FW Fakhreddine Ben Youssef 21 June 1991 22 3 France Metz 2015 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary squad
FW Haythem Jouini 7 May 1993 0 0 Tunisia Espérance v.  Egypt, 19 November 2014
FW Issam Jemâa 28 January 1984 84 36 Qatar Al-Sailiya v.  Senegal, 15 October 2014
FW Sami Allagui INJ 6 January 1986 27 5 Germany Mainz 05 v.  Senegal, 10 October 2014
FW Imed Louati 11 November 1993 0 0 China Hangzhou Greentown training camp, March 2014
FW Chedly Ghrab 15 May 1993 0 0 Tunisia Gabès v.  Belgium, 7 June 2014
Notes

INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.

Records

As of 27 March 2015

Most Caps[8]
# Player Caps Goals Career
1 Radhi Jaïdi 105 7 1996–2009
2 Chokri El Ouaer 97 0 1990–2002
3 Khaled Badra 96 10 1995–2006
4 Khaled Ben Yahia 95 5 1979–1993
Kaies Ghodhbane 95 6 1995–2006
6 Riadh Bouazizi 92 3 1995–2006
7 Tarak Dhiab 89 12 1974–1990
8 Sadok Sassi 87 0 1963–1978
9 Mohamed Ali Mahjoubi 86 17 1985–1995
Sirajeddine Chihi 86 4 1991–2001

Top Goalscorers[8]
# Player Goals Caps Career
1 Issam Jemâa 36 84 2005–
2 Francileudo Santos 21 41 2004–2008
3 Adel Sellimi 20 78 1991–2002
4 Faouzi Rouissi 18 57 1989–2001
5 Mohamed Ali Mahjoubi 17 86 1985–1995
6 Zoubeir Baya 16 83 1994–2002
7 Mohamed Salah Jedidi 15 32 1962–1965
Ziad Jaziri 15 63 1999–2007
9 Mohieddine Habita 14 25 1972–1980
Hassen Gabsi 14 50 1997–2002

Historic Kits

Kit Providers

Name Start End
Germany Adidas 1970's 1992
Italy Lotto 1994 1998
Germany Uhlsport 2000 2001
Germany Puma 2002 2010
Switzerland Burrda 2010

Kit history

1978 World Cup
1998 World Cup Home
1998 World Cup Away
2002 World Cup Home
2006 World Cup Home
2006 World Cup Away

References

  1. "Tunisia 3 – 1 Mexico". FIFA.com. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  2. "England beat Tunisia". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 15 June 1998. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  3. Moore, Glenn (16 June 1998). "England arrive at party in style". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  4. "World Cup – Colombia 1 Tunisia 0". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). 23 June 1998. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  5. "World Cup – Romania 1 Tunisia 1". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). 27 June 1998. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  6. "LISTE DES ENTRAÎNEURS NATIONAUX (1956–2008)". Fédrération Tunisienne de Football. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  7. "Liste des Joueurs convoqués pour les matchs amicaux Japon vs Tunisie (27/03) et Chine vs Tunisie (31/03)" (in French). Fédération Tunisienne de Football. 2014-12-27.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Imed Kilani. "Tunisia - Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 2013-08-16.

External links

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