Tunisia's first match after independence was against Libya, which they won 4–2. Periods of regular Tunisian representation at the highest international level, from 1962 to 1978, from 1994 to 2008 and again from 2014 onwards. The team qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 1978 as the only representative of the continent, and became the first African and Arab team to win a world cup match by beating Mexico3–1 in the first game. Totally tunisia qualified six times for the world cup and never making it past the group stage. The team qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations 22 times, the first time was in 1962 and won the only title in 2004 when they hosted the event after beating Morocco in the final. As african champions, they qualified for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and was eliminated in the group stage. The team qualified twice for the African Nations Championship and won the title in its first participation in 2011 by beating Angola in the final and participated in the FIFA Arab Cup three times, winning the title in the inaugural edition in 1963 and finishing second in 2021.
Radhi Jaïdi, with 105 international matches, holds the record for the number of matches played on the Tunisian national team while Issam Jemâa, with 36 goals, is their all-time highest scorer. The highest rank reached by the team in the FIFA Men's World Ranking is 14th in April and May 2018, while their lowest rank is 65th in July 2010.[3] The Tunisian national team is the team with the most consecutive participations in the Africa Cup of Nations, with 17 consecutive appearances, as it did not miss the event for 30 years between 1994 and 2025.
1928–56: French protectorate of Tunisia and beginning
The Tunisian football team in 1939.
Before independence, an unofficial team was formed in 1928, comprising the best Tunisian players from the Tunisian League. The team's first match was on 11 March 1928, against the France national football B team; Tunisia lost 8–2.[4] Their next friendlies, against the same team on 23 March 1930 and 26 March 1933, also resulted in heavy defeats: 0–5 and 1–6 respectively. Tunisia had to wait until 1932 for their first match win: a 1–0 victory over French Algeria.[5] Most of the matches that Tunisia played in the 30s and 40s were against French teams, whether it was French Algeria, the French military team or the France B team, in addition to a match against the France national team in 1941. Most of these matches were played at the Stade Vélodrome in Tunis.
1956–62: Post independence, First international participation
Tunisia gained independence from France on 20 March 1956. The Tunisian Football Federation was founded on 29 March 1957 and the Tunisian team played a match with Austrian club FC Admira Wacker Mödling on 30 December of the same year, winning 4–1. Tunisia became affiliated with FIFA and the Confederation of African Football in 1960. The independent Tunisia played their first match against Algeria on 1 June 1957, in the midst of the Algerian War, in which Tunisia lost 2–1. They played their first official match at the 1957 Arab Games where they won against Libya 4–3 after scoring the first Tunisian goal in an official competition by Farzit[fr]. They won against Iraq 4–2 and Lebanon 4–2 before losing in the final against Syria 3–1. In 1960, Yugoslavian Milan Kristić became the first foreign manager. The national team qualified for the 1960 Summer Olympics, their first international event after beating Malta, Morocco and Sudan. In the Olympic Games, the team suffered three defeats: against Poland 6–1, Argentina 2–1, and Denmark 3–1. Frane Matošić was appointed as the second Yugoslav coach of Tunisia after Kristić led Tunisia to qualify for the Olympics.
1962–78: Golden generation, First World Cup participation
In 1962, Tunisia entered the African Cup of Nations qualifiers for the first time. The team qualified for the tournament after beating Morocco and Nigeria, and went on to finish third after beating Uganda in the third-place match. The team won the 1963 Arab Cup, after winning against Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Kuwait. Tunisia also qualified for the 1963 Africa Cup of Nations, and CAF decided that Tunisia would host the 1965 AFCON, making the final after beating Ethiopia 4–0 in the opening match in Stade Chedly Zouiten,[6] losing 3–2 to Ghana in extra-time of the final.[7] Despite this early success, Tunisia did not enter the Cup of Nations again until 1976, and did not qualify until 1978. In 1973, the team entered the Palestine Cup of Nations and won in dominant fashion, winning all six of their matches overcoming Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq, scoring 19 goals. In February 1975, after a short stint with Hungarian manager André Nagy, Abdelmajid Chetali was hired. Tunisia qualified for their FIFA World Cup debut in 1978. Tunisia defeated Mexico 3–1,[8] but were defeated by Poland 1–0,[9] and drew scoreless against defending champion West Germany.
1978–94: Decline and Missing six editions of the AFCON
After their inaugural World Cup, Tunisia experienced a decline. Between 1980 and 1992, the team managed to qualify for only two tournaments: the 1982 African Cup of Nations, and the 1988 Summer Olympics. In both, they were knocked out in the first round. They, however, reached the last round of the 1986 World Cup qualifiers by beating Nigeria before being defeated by Algeria. Former Cameroon manager Jean Vincent was hired but the team was unable to qualify for the 1988 African Cup in Morocco after a defeat against Algeria.
The team experienced poor results in the African Games with defeats against Cameroon, Madagascar and Kenya. Taoufik Ben Othman, assistant manager in 1978,[10] improved Tunisia's results, as they qualified for the Olympic Games after surpassing Morocco and Egypt in the qualifiers. However, he was removed days before the start of the competition after poor results in the 1988 Arab Cup and failure to win in their matches against Saudi Arabia,[11] Lebanon,[12] Egypt[13] and Iraq,[14] as well as friendlies against Malta, Finland and East Germany. Polish manager Antoni Piechniczek was temporarily appointed and supervised the team in the first round of 1990 World Cup qualifiers and also in the finals of the Olympic Games; in the latter, Tunisia tied China 0–0[15] and Sweden 2–2[16] and lost to West Germany 4–1.[17]Mokhtar Tlili was appointed manager, however, he still missed the African Cup in 1990 after a defeat to Senegal. Piechniczek returned but still failed to qualify for the 1990 World Cup.[needs context] Despite missing the 1992 African Cup, the federation renewed confidence in him because of the respectable performance he had given in the qualifiers; an early exit from the World Cup qualifiers for 1994 contributed to his dismissal after a draw with Morocco.[needs context]Youssef Zouaoui replaced him; Tunisia hosted the 1994 African Cup of Nations replacing original hosts Zaire, but finished at the bottom of the group, after a 2–0 loss to Mali[18] and a draw with Zaire.[19]
1994–2002: Beginning of Resurgence, 1996 AFCON runners-up
Henryk Kasperczak became the new manager after Tunisia hosted the 1994 African Cup of Nations. Tunisia qualified for the 1996 AFCON and finished second in their group, putting them through to the quarter-finals. Tunisia went on to beat Gabon in the quarter-finals and Zambia in the semi-finals,[20][21] to reach their first major final in 31 years, but lost to host country South Africa 2–0.[22] Tunisia reached the quarter-finals of the 1998 African Cup of Nations in the lead of the group with a win over DR Congo,[23]Togo and a defeat from Ghana,[24][25] where they were eliminated in a penalty shootout by host country Burkina Faso.[26] The team also qualified for that year's World Cup after a 20-year absence: they again failed to advance from the group stages, losing 2–0 to England and 1–0 to Colombia,[27][28] and drawing 1–1 with Romania.[29] Kasperczak was sacked and replaced with Francesco Scoglio, who guided the team to the 2000 African Cup of Nations, where they finished in fourth place after losing to Cameroon in the semi-finals.[30] The following year, Scoglio departed to rejoin Genoa CFC, sparking a period of severe instability. Eckhard Krautzun initially took over and guided the team to a second World Cup appearance, but then resigned, citing interference from the Tunisian FA with his coaching. Henri Michel replaced him, but was sacked when Tunisia crashed out of the 2002 African Cup of Nations without scoring a single goal after scoreless draws with Senegal and Zambia and a defeat from Egypt. Finally, Ammar Souayah took over in time for the 2002 World Cup; the team drew in friendlies with Norway and South Korea and were defeated by Denmark and Slovenia. In the finals, Tunisia exited the tournament in the group stage, drawing 1–1 with Belgium, losing 2–0 to Russia and co-hosts Japan,[31][32][33] prompting a search for a new manager.[34][35][36]
In September 2002, the Tunisian Football Federation announced that it was finalizing a contract with former France manager Roger Lemerre. Tunisia hosted the 2004 African Cup of Nations, winning the group.[37] They defeated Senegal in the quarter-finals,[38] and Nigeria in the semi-finals. Tunisia built a 1–0 lead after four minutes with Mehdi Nafti's concentration pushed by Francileudo Santos, before Morocco levelled. Tunisia restored their lead,[39] giving them their first African Cup of Nations title. They also won the CAF's African National Team of the Year award. Lemerre became the first manager to win two different continental tournaments, having previously won Euro 2000 with France. As a result, Tunisia qualified for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany, playing the hosts, Argentina and Australia. The only points they would win was a victory over Australia.[40][41][42] Before their 2006 World Cup appearance, Lemerre took the Tunisians to a training camp in Switzerland, where they played international friendlies against Swiss clubs. Tunisia would only record one draw in Germany, against Saudi Arabia, losing against Spain and Ukraine.[43]Hatem Trabelsi announced his retirement from international football after eight years,[44][45] and Lemerre led Tunisia to the 2008 African Cup of Nations. Tunisia won their 2008 AFCON group after a draw in the opening match against Senegal 2–2, a 3–1 victory over South Africa, and a goalless draw against Angola. They then lost against Cameroon 3–2 in extra time.[46]
2008–14: Disappointments and missing the World Cup
Portuguese Humberto Coelho was appointed as the new manager on 3 June 2008. Coelho would fail to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Faouzi Benzarti was appointed as the new manager, and was also sacked after Tunisia were eliminated from the group stage in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. In June 2010, Bertrand Marchand was appointed manager for a two-year contract. After a series of horrendous results, Tunisia fell to 65th in the FIFA World Rankings, the worst in its history. Sami Trabelsi was appointed, and the team qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a defeat by Ghana.
In the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Tunisia snatched a late winner against Algeria, before a defeat by Ivory Coast, 3–0. The last match ended with a 1–1 draw against Togo. In February 2013, Nabil Maâloul replaced Sami Trabelsi; in their first two 2014 World Cup qualification matches, Tunisia beat Sierra Leone 2–1 and clinched a 2–2 draw in Freetown. On 16 June, during the fifth round of the group stage, Tunisia tied 1–1 against Equatorial Guinea. A 2–0 loss to Cape Verde on 7 September all but eliminated Tunisia; however, Tunisia advanced after FIFA disqualified Cape Verde for cheating. They would then be knocked out by Cameroon.
2014–22: Renaissance and two World Cup participations
Belgian manager Georges Leekens was appointed in early 2014; early results included a 1–1 draw against Colombia and a 1–0 win over South Korea,[47][48] both in friendly matches. Under Leekens, the team climbed from 49th to 22nd in the FIFA rankings. Tunisia qualified for the 2015 African Cup of Nations, and topped their group for the first time since 2008, winning against Zambia and drawing with Cape Verde and DR Congo.[49][50][51] They were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a defeat to host Equatorial Guinea.[52] In July 2015, Henryk Kasperczak returned as manager after 17 years. He managed to qualify the team for the 2017 African Cup, and reached the quarter-finals of the competition after beating Algeria and Zimbabwe,[53][54] before losing again in this round, this time against Burkina Faso.[55]
On 27 April 2017, Nabil Maâloul returned as manager despite the disapproval of the Tunisian supporters following the failure at the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, but this time he qualified Tunisia for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Tunisia's qualification for the World Cup and its results in friendlies against Iran and Costa Rica,[56] led to its rise to 14th place in the FIFA World Rankings, their best ever. Before the World Cup, Tunisia drew with Turkey and Portugal,[57] in addition to a narrow defeat against Spain 1–0.[58] Despite this, in the World Cup, Tunisia were once again eliminated from the group stage. In the first match,[59]England won 2–1.[60]Belgium defeated the North Africans 5–2,[61] and in Tunisia's last game against Panama,[62] the Arab nation won 2–1.[63][64] Tunisia qualified for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations with new manager Alain Giresse; the new manager would only record three ties, against Angola, Mali, and Mauritania to qualify for the round 16. They eventually would win against Ghana, and Madagascar 3–0 in the quarter-finals, to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time in 15 years, losing to Senegal 1–0 in extra time. In September 2021, the national team began its 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with three consecutive victories against Equatorial Guinea, Zambia,[65] and Mauritania; they would then draw Mauritania 0–0 and lose against Equatorial Guinea 1–0, to advance for the third round on the top of the group.[66][67]
Qatar hosted the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup; Tunisia started with a 5–1 win against Mauritania.[68] They then suffered an unexpected defeat to Syria,[69] before winning against the United Arab Emirates.[70] In the quarter-finals Tunisia won against Oman 2–1, and scored a 95th minute winner against Egypt in the semi-finals.[71] Tunisia faced Algeria in the final, losing 2–0.[72] The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations was postponed to early 2022; in the group stage, Tunisia began with a 1–0 defeat against Mali, with Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe ending the match in the 85th minute.[73][74] In the second match, the team achieved a 4–0 victory over Mauritania,[75] and lost against Gambia in the last group match. Tunisia defeated Nigeria in the round of 16, and were eliminated by Burkina Faso.[76][77] In March, Tunisia qualified for their sixth World Cup, the 2022 tournament in Qatar, the first hosted by an Arab nation, after beating Mali 1–0 on aggregate, taking revenge for the earlier loss in the AFCON.[78] They then defeated Chile and Japan to win the 2022 Kirin Cup Soccer title for the first time,[79][80] and Ferjani Sassi was named the best player of the tournament while his compatriot Issam Jebali finished as the top scorer with two goals.[81] Tunisia played two pre-World Cup friendlies in France in September 2022, defeating Comoros 1−0 in Croissy-sur-Seine[82] and losing 5−1 to Brazil at the Parc des Princes in Paris.[83] With the exception of Brazil, Tunisia's relatively good forms increased confidence on the side to break the knockout stage taboo as Tunisia found themselves grouped with world champions France, European dark horse Denmark and Asian minnows Australia.[84] In Group D, Tunisia drew Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark 0−0 in a rather decent display by the African side.[85] But a 0−1 loss against Australia followed, severely hampering Tunisia's odds to progress. A 1−0 victory over France courtesy of a goal from Wahbi Khazri was not enough to seal Tunisia's place in the last 16 as Australia's Mathew Leckie goal against Denmark meant the Asian representative placed second.[86][87]
2023–present: Difficulties, results crisis and decline
Tunisia was drawn for the AFCON alongside Mali, Namibia and South Africa.[101] In preparation for the competition, the team played two friendly matches in Radès, a draw against Mauritania 0–0 and a victory against Cape Verde 2–0.[102][103] In the first match, the team tried in vain to overcome the constant pressure from Namibia.[104] At the end of the second half, two minutes before the end of regulation time, Bethuel Muzeu sent a cross from midfield to striker Deon Hotto, who scored a vertical goal that Bechir Ben Saïd could not block,[105] so the match ended in a 0–1 defeat.[106] Against Mali, the Tunisians fell behind after a goal by Lassine Sinayoko on a pass from Kamory Doumbia.[107] Just ten minutes after Mali opened the scoring, Ali Abdi produced a point and a back pass for Hamza Rafia to equalise,[108] which proved to be the final score of the match.[109] In the last match against South Africa, Tunisia was too timid while South Africa was too reluctant to make convincing efforts while holding the advantage.[110] However, as the match became increasingly difficult, the Tunisians almost fell into the traps of the South African counterattack, including a missed effort by Sphephelo Sithole.[111] Despite an attempt at goal by Haythem Jouini, the match ended goalless, eliminating Tunisia from the group stage for the first time since the 2013 edition.[112] In this context, the coach submitted his resignation two years after taking office.[113] Three days later, the entire technical staff was dismissed,[114] while Anis Boussaïdi and Montasser Louhichi were appointed to act as interim managers.[115] On 30 January the federation published a notice announcing the opening of applications in a context of controversy.[116] In this context, the team lost thirteen places, which made it fall to 41st place in the FIFA world ranking, the worst drop since April 2011.[117]
In March, the team participated in the Egyptian Capital Cup,[118] a friendly tournament affiliated with the 2024 FIFA Series. Under Louhichi's leadership,[119] the team played in the semi-final against Croatia and, after a 0–0 draw, lost on penalties 4–5.[120] In the third-place match, the team faced New Zealand; the match also ended in a goalless draw, which ended with a 4–2 penalty shootout victory and a third-place finish for Tunisia.[121] Louhichi continued to lead the team in the third and fourth rounds of the World Cup qualifiers.[122] The team won narrowly against Equatorial Guinea in Radès thanks to a goal from Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane on a penalty and a goalless draw against Namibia in Johannesburg.[123][124] On 14 June, Faouzi Benzarti was appointed coach for the fourth time, to take office on 1 July, with Mehdi Nafti as assistant coach.[125][126] The draw for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification took place on 4 July.[127] Tunisia was in Group A with Madagascar, Comoros and Gambia.[128] On 23 July, FIFA decided to create a normalization committee within the Tunisian Football Federation and Kamel Idir was asked to lead it.[129] However, Nafti was dismissed from his duties and replaced by Kais Yaâkoubi for disciplinary reasons.[130][131] On 5 September, the team began the qualifiers with a difficult victory in Radès against Madagascar 1–0,[132] thanks to a goal by Ferjani Sassi in the 98th minute, then a victory three days later against Gambia in El Jadida, Morocco 2–1 with a double by Ali Abdi and Ben Romdhane.[133]
On the third matchday, Tunisia was shocked by a surprise defeat against the Comoros in Radès 1–0 with a poor performance.[134] In the return match, played in Abidjan against the same opponent, Tunisia was behind until Yassine Meriah equalized in the 69th minute, ending the match 1–1.[135] The team received strong criticism due to poor choices in the technical framework and the lack of discipline on the part of the players.[136][137] After that, Benzarti threatened to resign, but the normalization committee refused,[138] before changing his mind on 22 October by mutual agreement with Benzarti. In this context, the team lost eleven places in the FIFA world rankings, falling to 47th place, which is the biggest drop recorded in October 2024 on a global scale. On 5 October, Kais Yaâkoubi was appointed interim coach for the last two matches of the qualifiers. On 14 November, during the penultimate day, Tunisia successfully played the return match against Madagascar in Pretoria 3–2, thus qualifying for the final phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations thanks to goals from Hamza Rafia, Sayfallah Ltaief and Ali Abdi. In the last match, the team suffered a new defeat in Radès, this time against Gambia 0–1. Tunisia finished the qualifiers in second place in the group behind the Comoros with three wins, one draw and two losses. This is the first time since the 2012 qualification that Tunisia has qualified for the AFCON in second place. This causes it to fall again in the FIFA world rankings and finish in 52nd place in November 2024.
Tunisia's main football rivals are its neighbours Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt, with which it shares close cultural and political relations. Tunisia have played 45 games against Algeria. After the independence of Algeria, a friendly match took place at the Stade Chedly Zouiten.[142] The teams also met three times in the qualifying phase of the World Cup in 1970, 1978 and 1986. The overall record slightly favours the Algerians with 16 wins, 14 draws and 14 losses. Algeria and Tunisia played three times in official competitions: twice in the Africa Cup of Nations, in 2013 and 2017,[143][144] which Tunisia won both times, and once in the FIFA Arab Cup in 2021, which Algeria won.[145]
The two teams have met 39 times in both official and friendly matches. Tunisia have won 16 matches against Egypt's 12. 11 matches have ended in a draw.[146] Tunisia and Morocco have played 50 games since their independence from France in 1956.[147] Their first match was in 1962 World Cup qualification, which took place on 30 October 1960 in Casablanca.[148] Many matches were played in World Cup qualification as they met in 1962, 1970, 1978, 1990, 1994 and 2006 qualifying.[149] They also met four times in the African Cup of Nations. Two of them ended in a draw in 1978 and 2000 and the other two matches ended up as a Tunisian win in the 2004 and 2012 AFCONs.[150]
The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Liberia and Malawi, on 19 and 24 March 2025 respectively. Caps and goals correct as of 24 March 2025, after the match against Malawi.
Map of teams played against Tunisia by number of matches:
1 Match
2–4 Matches
5–9 Matches
10–20 Matches
20–49 Matches
+50 Matches
FIFA rankings
Tunisia's FIFA rankings have ranged from 65 in July 2010, to 14 in April 2018. The Tunisian national team has always been one of the best African teams, especially thanks to its good results in the Africa Cup of Nations (3rd place in the 1962 edition, second place in the 1965 and 1996 editions and the champion in the 2004 edition). But also after the good results in 2017 and 2018: the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (eight matches: six wins and two draws) and friendlies (five matches: 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat); Thus, the Tunisian national team reached the fourteenth place in the world in April and May 2018. It is also considered the best African team in the FIFA World Ranking between January and December 2018. Below is a chart of Tunisia's FIFA ranking since 1993.[265]
↑ Tunisia qualified against Libya after winning two matches in the qualifiers, back 1–0 and 1–2, and due to the delay in the start of the session from January to April, the candidacy was withdrawn from the Tunisian Football Federation on 20 December 2019 due to the pressure of the calendar.[223]
↑ FIFA awarded Tunisia a 3–0 win as a result of Cape Verde fielding the player Fernando Varela, who had been sent off in the match against Equatorial Guinea on 24 March 2013. As a result of his sending off for unsporting conduct towards a match official, Varela had been given a four match suspension and would miss the rest of the qualifying campaign plus one further FIFA game. Varela did not participate in the games against Equatorial Guinea on 8 June 2013 or the game against Sierra Leone on 16 June 2013. Complicating matters, Varela's red card against Equatorial Guinea was removed from the FIFA.com website.[263] The match originally ended 2–0 to Cape Verde.[264]
↑ The two teams play on January 18, 2000 a training match, three halves of 35 minutes, won by Ghana 2–0 but which can not be considered a real international match.
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3 (3 April 2025) [1] 
Tunisia 4–2 Libya 
Tunisia 7–0 Togo 
Hungary 10–1 Tunisia 
