Tunisia World Cup 2026 squad: Sabri Lamouchi's final 26-man selection (original) (raw)

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Tunisia World Cup 2026 squad: Tunisia's players pose ahead an international friendly.

Tunisia line up before playing Brazil. | Credit: FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images

The Tunisia World Cup 2026 squad is the third that the nation have sent to the competition in a row.

World Cup 2026 will be the Eagles of Carthage's seventh tournament – and though they have one of the lesser-known squads at the tournament and won't be among the World Cup favourites, there is certainly hope for making history this time around… but the last year has not been without its ups and downs.

For a start, this was a defensively stringent team under Sami Trabelsi, who returned for a second stint as manager and led this side to become the first in history to qualify for the World Cup without conceding a single goal.

But then came AFCON earlier this year and a Round of 16 exit to Mali: 1998 hero Trabelsi was sacked, and in came former Rennes, Nottingham Forest and Cardiff boss, Sabri Lamouchi, who will be hoping for one hell of a new manager bounce across the Atlantic.

Tunisia will be based in Mexico for their first two fixtures against Sweden and Japan, before travelling to Missouri to face group favourites, the Netherlands, knowing that just three points could be enough to secure passage into a first-ever knockout round.

Though there aren't many standout superstars, there several solid players across this 26-man selection: Ellyes Skhiri of Eintracht Frankfurt leads the group in midfield alongside Anis Ben Slimane and Hannibal Mejbri, two experienced faces in English football.

Four 30-somethings with 377 caps between them won't be in North America, however: Ferjani Sassi, Yassine Meriah, Ali Maaloul and Naim Sliti haven't been named in this squad, despite going to the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, with Sliti having retired.

Squad

Fixtures and results

Fixtures

Recent results

Manager

Who is Tunisia's manager?

Head coach of Tunisia's national football team Sabri Lamouchi speaks during a press conference in Tunis.

Sabri Lamouchi has taken charge of Tunisia | Credit: FETHI BELAID / AFP via Getty Images

Sabri Lamouchi missed out on his country's defining moment at the Greatest Show on Earth in 1998: he was one of six axed from manager Aime Jacquet's preliminary France squad for the tournament on home soil, which Les Bleus capped with that legendary win.

2026 will see the 54-year-old travel to his second World Cup as a coach, having guided the Ivory Coast to the competition in 2014, where Les Elephantes went out at the group stage, but Lamouchi heads to North America, still getting to know his own players. He's managed just two games so far, following Sami Trabelsi's dismissal earlier this year.

Star player

Who is Tunisia's star player?

Tunisia's defender #06 Dylan Bronn, Tunisia's midfielder #13 Ferjani Sassi congratulate Tunisia's midfielder #17 Ellyes Skhiri after he scores a goal

Ellyes Skhiri is Tunisia's key man | Credit: Getty Images

With very few top-level operators, Ellyes Skhiri is the only Tunisian to have played Champions League football this season – though his side, Eintracht Frankfurt suffered a poor season in which they bombed out of Europe's league phase and finished eighth in the Bundesliga.

Skhiri is consistent in midfield for Tunisia: he'll be the first name on the team sheet, and in the absence of a real game-breaker, they'll rely on his leadership to keep them in games.

Best XI