The Tunisia national football team manager was first established in 1956 following the appointment of the country's first national team manager Rachid Turki. [1] Thirty-six men have occupied the post since its inception; five of those were in short-term caretaker manager roles: Faouzi Benzarti in two terms (one game in charge in 1994 and four games in 2010), Sami Trabelsi (six games in 2011 until he was appointed full-time), Ruud Krol (two games), Montasser Louhichi (four games) and Kais Yaâkoubi (two games). [2]
Roger Lemerre held the position for the longest to date with a tenure of six years leading the team in 67 matches, more than any other manager in Tunisia's history. [3] He is also the most successful manager after winning the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, reaching 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Yugoslav coach Milan Kristić became the first foreign manager of the team in 1960. [4] France has the largest number of managers to have coached Tunisia, with six managers.
In 2024, a coaching dispute occurred in the team, as three coaches took turns in charge of the team after the dismissal of Jalel Kadri on 24 January. Montasser Louhichi was appointed temporarily on 26 January for two friendly matches in June and the third and fourth matchdays of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, [5] and then Faouzi Benzarti was appointed on 1 July, the fourth time he had taken over the task in his career, [6] leading the team in four matches of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification after two wins, a draw and a defeat, he resigned from his position and was replaced by his assistant Kais Yaâkoubi temporarily on 5 November, [7] [8] leading the team during the fifth and sixth days of the Afcon qualifiers, where he led the team to qualify after a win and a defeat.
The Tunisia manager's role means he has sole responsibility for all on-the-field elements of the Tunisian team. Among other activities, this includes selecting the national team squad, the starting team, captain, tactics, substitutes and penalty-takers.
The coach has a relative freedom to choose his staff as some of coaches refused to coach the Tunisian national team due to the Tunisian Football Federation’s refusal to appoint foreign assistant coaches. This was the case with Jacques Santini in 2008 and Raymond Domenech. However, the Tunisian Football Federation agreed to Henryk Kasperczak's proposal in 2015 to appoint Frenchman Patrick Hesse to the team.
The process of appointing a new Tunisia manager is undertaken by a FTF committee, which is composed of board members and other high-ranking FTF officials. Every time this process is subject to controversy because the committee includes former coaches who did not succeed with the national team, such as Youssef Zouaoui and Mokhtar Tlili.
As of 18 November 2024 after match against Gambia .
Manager | Nat | From | To | Pld | W | D | L | Win % | Tournaments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rachid Turki | 1956 | 1957 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | — | |
Habib Draoua (DTN) Hechmi Cherif Larbi Soudani | | 1957 | 1960 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 46.67% | — |
Milan Kristić | 1960 | 1961 | 23 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 21.74% | 1960 Summer Olympic Games – Group stage 1962 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify | |
Frane Matošić | 1961 | 1962 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16.67% | 1962 African Cup of Nations – Third place | |
André Gérard | 1963 | 1965 | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 44.12% | 1963 Arab Cup – Champions 1963 African Cup of Nations – Group stage | |
Mokhtar Ben Nacef | 1965 | 1968 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 33.33% | 1965 African Cup of Nations – Runners-up 1968 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify | |
Radojica Radojičić | 17 November 1968 | 17 April 1969 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 22.22% | — | |
Sereta Begović | 27 April 1969 | 13 June 1969 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0.00% | 1970 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify | |
Hameur Hizem (1) | 11 November 1970 | 16 July 1974 | 33 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 48.48% | 1974 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify | |
Andrej Prean Nagy | September 1974 | February 1975 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 40.00% | — | |
Abdelmajid Chetali [9] | 12 February 1975 | 20 December 1978 | 52 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 34.61% | 1976 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify 1978 African Cup of Nations – Fourth Place 1978 FIFA World Cup – Group stage | |
Hameur Hizem (2) | December 1978 | April 1979 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33.33% | — | |
Ahmed Dhib | July 1979 | August 1980 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 21.43% | 1982 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify | |
Ryszard Kulesza | August 1981 | December 1983 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 40.00% | 1982 African Cup of Nations – Group stage 1984 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify | |
Youssef Zouaoui (1) | September 1984 | February 1986 | 26 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 54.16% | 1986 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify 1986 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify | |
Jean Vincent | October 1986 | April 1987 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10.00% | 1988 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify | |
Taoufik Ben Othman | September 1987 | July 1988 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 25.00% | — | |
Antoni Piechniczek (1) | August 1988 | September 1988 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 33.33% | 1988 Summer Olympic Games – Group stage | |
Mokhtar Tlili | November 1988 | July 1989 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 21.43% | 1990 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify | |
Antoni Piechniczek (2) | July 1989 | November 1989 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 25.00% | 1990 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify | |
Mrad Mahjoub | April 1990 | February 1993 | 26 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 30.77% | 1992 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify 1994 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify | |
Youssef Zouaoui (2) | March 1993 | March 1994 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 30.77% | — | |
Faouzi Benzarti (1; caretaker) | March 1994 | March 1994 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 1994 African Cup of Nations – Group stage | |
Henryk Kasperczak (1) | May 1994 | June 1998 | 59 | 30 | 11 | 18 | 50.84% | 1996 African Cup of Nations – Runners-up 1996 Summer Olympic Games – Group stage 1998 African Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals 1998 FIFA World Cup – Group stage | |
Franco Scoglio | September 1998 | February 2001 | 32 | 19 | 8 | 5 | 59.73% | 2000 African Cup of Nations – Fourth Place | |
Eckhard Krautzun | March 2001 | July 2001 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 57.14% | 2002 FIFA World Cup – Group stage | |
Henri Michel | 28 November 2001 | 13 March 2002 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 33.33% | 2002 African Cup of Nations – Group stage | |
Ammar Souayah | March 2002 | July 2002 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.00% | — | |
Roger Lemerre [10] | 25 September 2002 | 30 June 2008 | 67 | 40 | 15 | 12 | 59.70% | 2004 African Cup of Nations – Champions 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup – Group stage 2006 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals 2006 FIFA World Cup – Group stage 2008 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals | |
Humberto Coelho [11] | 30 June 2008 | 18 November 2009 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 33.33% | 2009 African Nations Championship – Failed to qualify 2010 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify | |
Faouzi Benzarti (2) [12] | 23 November 2009 | 23 January 2010 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.00% | 2010 Africa Cup of Nations – Group stage | |
Bertrand Marchand [13] | 4 June 2010 | 15 December 2010 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 50.00% | — | |
Sami Trabelsi [14] | 11 March 2011 | 8 February 2013 | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 40.63% | 2011 African Nations Championship – Champions 2012 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals 2013 Africa Cup of Nations – Group stage | |
Nabil Maâloul (1) | 14 February 2013 | 8 September 2013 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 28.57% | 2014 African Nations Championship – Failed to qualify | |
Ruud Krol (caretaker) [15] [16] | 18 September 2013 | 17 November 2013 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00% | 2014 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify | |
Georges Leekens [17] | 27 March 2014 | 26 June 2015 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 36.84% | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals | |
Henryk Kasperczak (2) [18] [19] | 13 July 2015 | 7 April 2017 | 26 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 46.15% | 2016 African Nations Championship – Quarter-finals 2017 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals | |
Nabil Maâloul (2) [20] | 27 April 2017 | 12 July 2018 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 46.15% | 2018 FIFA World Cup – Group stage | |
Faouzi Benzarti (3) [21] | 28 July 2018 | 20 October 2018 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | — | |
Alain Giresse [22] [23] | 14 December 2018 | 21 August 2019 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 41.67% | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations – Fourth Place | |
Mondher Kebaier [24] [25] | 29 August 2019 | 30 January 2022 | 31 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 61.29% | 2021 FIFA Arab Cup – Runners-up 2021 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals | |
Jalel Kadri [26] | 30 January 2022 | 24 January 2024 | 27 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 51.85% | 2022 FIFA World Cup – Group stage 2023 Africa Cup of Nations – Group stage | |
Montasser Louhichi (caretaker) [27] [28] | 26 January 2024 | 30 June 2024 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25.00% | — | |
Faouzi Benzarti (4) [29] [30] | 1 July 2024 | 22 October 2024 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50.00% | — | |
Kais Yaâkoubi (caretaker) | 5 November 2024 | 18 November 2024 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.00% | — |
Nat | Manager | Stats | |
---|---|---|---|
First coach | Rachid Turki | 1956 | |
Longest period | Roger Lemerre | 5 years, 280 days | |
Shortest period | Faouzi Benzarti (1) | 4 days | |
Most matches | Roger Lemerre | 67 matches | |
Less matches | Faouzi Benzarti (1) | 1 match | |
Most wins | Roger Lemerre | 40 wins | |
Most defeats | Henryk Kasperczak (1) | 18 defeats | |
Highest win% | Faouzi Benzarti (3) | 100.00% | |
Lowest win% | | Sereta Begović Ammar Souayah Faouzi Benzarti (1&2) Ruud Krol | 0.00% |
Country | Managers |
---|---|
Tunisia | 17 |
France | 6 |
Poland | 3 |
Yugoslavia | |
Algeria | 1 |
Belgium | |
Croatia | |
Germany | |
Hungary | |
Italy | |
Netherlands | |
Portugal |
The Tunisia national football team, controlled by the Tunisian Football Federation (TFF), represents Tunisia in men's international Association football competitions. On a continental level, the team competes under the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It is also affiliated with FIFA for global competitions. Additionally, the team is a member of the Union of North African Football (UNAF) and the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The team is colloquially known as Eagles of Carthage by fans and the media, with the bald eagle serving as its symbol. Their home kit is primarily white and their away kit is red, which is a reference to the national flag of the country. The team has qualified six times for the FIFA World Cup and twenty-one times for the Africa Cup of Nations. It has competed in four editions of Summer Olympics and participated once in the FIFA Confederation Cup. Since 2001, Tunisia's home stadium is the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium in Radès, Tunis.
The Tunisian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Tunisia. It established on 29 March 1957. It became a member in the FIFA in 1960, and in the same year it also became a member of CAF association. The federation also joined the UAFA in 1976 and the UNAF in 2005.
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