Qualification
Summary
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
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 |
| 3 September 2021 | Tunisia | 3–0 | Equatorial Guinea | Tunis, Tunisia |
| 20:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Stade Hammadi Agrebi Referee: Daniel Laryea Nii Ayi (Ghana) |
| 7 September 2021 | Zambia | 0–2 | Tunisia | Ndola, Zambia |
| 15:00 UTC+2 | Report |
| Stadium: Levy Mwanawasa Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Eric Otogo-Castane (Gabon) |
| 7 October 2021 | Tunisia | 3–0 | Mauritania | Tunis, Tunisia |
| 20:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Stade Hammadi Agrebi Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia) |
| 10 October 2021 | Mauritania | 0–0 | Tunisia | Nouakchott, Mauritania |
| 19:00 UTC±0 | Report | Stadium: Stade Olympique de Nouakchott Referee: Mehdi Abid Charef (Algeria) |
| 13 November 2021 | Equatorial Guinea | 1–0 | Tunisia | Malabo, Equatorial Guinea |
| 17:00 UTC+1 |
| Report | Stadium: Estadio de Malabo Referee: Boubou Traoré (Mali) |
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]
| 25 March | Mali  | 0–1 | Tunisia | Bamako, Mali |
| 17:00 UTC±0 | Report | Stadium: Stade du 26 Mars Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia) |
| 29 March | Tunisia | 0–0 (1–0 agg.) | Mali | Tunis, Tunisia |
| 20:30 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Maguette N'Diaye (Senegal) |
Qualification statistics
Matches played
| Scorers
|
