Tunisia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

This article relates the participation of Tunisia during the 2022 FIFA World Cup organized in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022. ^[1] This is the country's sixth participation in the competition after 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2018. ^[2] Tunisia meets France, Denmark and Australia in Group D. ^[3] For the sixth time, Tunisia failed to qualify for the second round of the World Cup, as Tunisia finished the tournament ranked 21st after a 0–0 draw with Denmark, a 0–1 defeat against Australia and a 1–0 victory over France.

Qualification

Summary

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

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.

Second Round

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF second round

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

Source: FIFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Tunisia v   Equatorial Guinea

3 September 2021	Tunisia	3–0	Equatorial Guinea	Tunis, Tunisia
20:00  UTC+1	Bronn 54' Skhiri 78' Khazri 82' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Hammadi Agrebi Stadium Referee: Daniel Laryea Nii Ayi (Ghana)

Zambia   v Tunisia

7 September 2021	Zambia	0–2	Tunisia	Ndola, Zambia
15:00  UTC+2		Report	Khazri 8' (pen.) Ben Slimane 90+2'	Stadium: Levy Mwanawasa Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Eric Otogo-Castane (Gabon)

Tunisia v   Mauritania

7 October 2021	Tunisia	3–0	Mauritania	Tunis, Tunisia
20:00  UTC+1	Skhiri 15' Khazri 42' Jaziri 86'	Report		Stadium: Hammadi Agrebi Stadium Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)

Mauritania   v Tunisia

10 October 2021	Mauritania	0–0	Tunisia	Nouakchott, Mauritania
19:00  UTC±0		Report		Stadium: Stade Olympique de Nouakchott Referee: Mehdi Abid Charef (Algeria)

Equatorial Guinea   v Tunisia

13 November 2021	Equatorial Guinea	1–0	Tunisia	Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
17:00  UTC+1	Ganet 84'	Report		Stadium: Estadio de Malabo Referee: Boubou Traoré (Mali)

Tunisia v   Zambia

16 November 2021	Tunisia	3–1	Zambia	Tunis, Tunisia
20:00  UTC+1	Laïdouni 18' Dräger 31' Maâloul 43'	Report	Sakala 80'	Stadium: Hammadi Agrebi Stadium Referee: Pacifique Ndabihawenimana (Burundi)

Third Round

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF third round

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]

Mali   v   Tunisia

25 March 2022	Mali	0–1	Tunisia	Bamako, Mali
17:00  UTC±0		Report	Sissako 36' (o.g.)	Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)

Tunisia   v   Mali

29 March 2022	Tunisia	0–0 (1–0 agg.)	Mali	Tunis, Tunisia
20:30  UTC+1		Report		Stadium: Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Tunis Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Maguette N'Diaye (Senegal)

Qualification statistics

Matches played Number of matches played in qualifying Matches Players 8 Ali Maâloul, Aïssa Laïdouni 7 Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, Seifeddine Jaziri 6 Farouk Ben Mustapha, Dylan Bronn, Montassar Talbi, Anis Ben Slimane, Naïm Sliti, Wahbi Khazri 5 Ellyes Skhiri, Ferjani Sassi, Yassine Meriah 4 Hamza Mathlouthi, Ghailene Chaalali, Hamza Rafia, Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, Youssef Msakni 3 Wajdi Kechrida, Mohamed Dräger, Saîf-Eddine Khaoui 2 Bechir Ben Saïd, Nader Ghandri, Saad Bguir, Taha Yassine Khenissi 1 Bilel Ifa, Hannibal Mejbri, Mortadha Ben Ouanes, Sebastian Tounekti 0 Aymen Dahmen, Ali Jemal, Mouez Hassen, Ali Abdi, Moataz Zemzemi, Oussama Haddadi, Issam Jebali

Scorers Qualifying goal statistics Goals Players Opponents 3 Wahbi Khazri   Equatorial Guinea ,   Mauritania ,   Zambia 2 Ellyes Skhiri   Equatorial Guinea ,   Mauritania 1 Seifeddine Jaziri   Mauritania Aïssa Laïdouni   Zambia Ali Maâloul   Zambia Anis Ben Slimane   Zambia Dylan Bronn   Equatorial Guinea Mohamed Dräger   Zambia 1 (o.g.) Moussa Sissako   Mali

Preparation

Draw

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.

Preparation matches

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]

Tunisia v   Equatorial Guinea

2 June 2023 AFCON qualification	Tunisia	4–0	Equatorial Guinea	Tunis, Tunisia
20:00  UTC+1	Sliti 56' Jaziri 77' Msakni 80', 85'	Report		Stadium: Hammadi Agrebi Stadium Referee: Pacifique Ndabihawenimana (Burundi)

Botswana   v Tunisia

5 June 2023 AFCON qualification	Botswana	0–0	Tunisia	Francistown, Botswana
15:00  UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Francistown Stadium Referee: Mohamed Athoumani (Comoros)

Chile   v Tunisia

10 June 2022 Kirin Cup Soccer	Chile	0–2	Tunisia	Kobe, Japan
15:15  UTC+9		Report (JFA)	Abdi 41' Jebali 89'	Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe Attendance: 4,973 Referee: Tanimoto Ryo (Japan)

Japan   v Tunisia

14 June 2022 Kirin Cup Soccer	Japan	0–3	Tunisia	Osaka, Japan
18:55  UTC+9		Report (JFA) Report (Soccerway)	Ben Romdhane 55' (pen.) Sassi 76' Jebali 90+3'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 31,292 Referee: Ahmed Eisa Darwish (United Arab Emirates)

Tunisia v   Comoros

22 September Friendly	Tunisia	1−0	Comoros	Croissy-sur-Seine, France
16:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Khenissi 59'	Report		Stadium: Stade Omnisports Du Chemin De Ronde Referee: Gabriel Henry (France)

Brazil   v Tunisia

27 September Friendly	Brazil	5–1	Tunisia	Paris, France
20:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Raphinha 11', 40' Richarlison 19' Neymar 29' (pen.) Pedro 74'	Report	Talbi 18'	Stadium: Parc des Princes Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)

Iran   v   Tunisia

16 November Friendly	Iran	0–2	Tunisia	Doha, Qatar
16:00  UTC+3		Report	Sliti 62' (pen.) Abdi 69'	Stadium: Al Rayyan SC Training Stadium Attendance: 0

Team

Squad

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup squads

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

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

Kit

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]

Home

Away

Goalkeeper 1

Goalkeeper 2

Group stage

Group D

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D

Tunisia v Denmark.

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]

Tunisia v Australia.

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.

Standings

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

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

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.

Denmark vs Tunisia

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]

22 November 2022 (2022-11-22)

16:00

Denmark	0–0	Tunisia
	Report

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 42,925

Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Mexico)

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)

Tunisia vs Australia

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]

26 November 2022 (2022-11-26)

13:00

Tunisia	0–1	Australia
	Report	Duke 23'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 41,823

Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)

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)

Tunisia vs France

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]

30 November 2022 (2022-11-30)

18:00

Tunisia	1–0	France
Khazri 58'	Report

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 43,627

Referee: Matthew Conger (New Zealand)

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)

Statistics

Playing time

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	–	–

Scorers Goals Players Opponents 1 Wahbi Khazri   France

Assists Assists Players Opponents 1 Aïssa Laïdouni   France

Controversies

Threatening to be excluded

At the end of October 2022, an internal dispute concerning the Minister of Youth and Sports, Kamel Deguiche, and the president of the federation, Wadie Jary, threatens Tunisia's participation in the World Cup. ^[63] Indeed, the two men are known to hate each other and the first wishes to dissolve the federation to separate from the second. ^[64] FIFA systematically penalizes cases of interference in the world of football, it therefore warns the Tunisian federation: by means of a letter, it warns that it reserves the right to exclude Tunisia from the competition in case of taking power over the federation by Deguiche. ^[65]

Allegations of interference in the squad

Dozens of news websites in Tunisia reported that coach Jalel Kadri was subjected to pressure during the formation of the Tunisian team's squad for the 2022 World Cup, according to the player Saad Bguir, who was excluded from the final list and who was on the initial list. ^[66] He also announced his international retirement through a phone call on the TV program Stade Plus on Carthage Plus, until the president of the Tunisian Football Federation, Wadie Jary, left his position. ^[67] It started when Bilel Ifa was excluded from the list a day before the official announcement, and was later brought back after fans outraged on social media. On 14 November 2022, hundreds of fans greeted the team bus in Doha upon their arrival, but the president of the Federation was insulted in the worst terms.

Also, the selection of four goalkeepers was under pressure from the Tunisian Football Federation to meet the wishes of certain teams on the financial level, FIFA, since the 2010 FIFA World Cup, paying a subsidy to each. team, of which at least one player has been called up in each edition of the competition. On 28 November 2022, former national team player Issam Jemâa said on Radio IFM, ^[68] that TFF officials had sacrificed one of the players to call four goalkeepers into the final list, as the choice was on Bilel Ifa, who returned to the team after the anger of the fans, Taha Yassine Khenissi, who was medically examined for two hours, so they could find him injured or Seifeddine Jaziri, who was called up due to financial transactions between him and the brother of the president of the TFF, Wajih Jary. In the final, Saad Bguir was abandoned. ^[69]

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External links

• Tunisia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at fifa.com