Six previous finals (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022); 2026 is the seventh. Tunisia have never advanced beyond the group stage.
Norway-born, Tunis-claimed: a quick, direct Celtic winger (b. 2002) who only recently chose the Eagles. The kind of fresh face Lamouchi's reshuffle was built around.
Towering defender of the golden 2004 side; later a Premier League regular with Bolton and Birmingham.
Tunisia's all-time top scorer and the spearhead of the late-2000s sides.
⚠ The most-used eleven in recent matches under Sabri Lamouchi (June 2026) — a snapshot of recent form, never a forecast.
| PLAYER | POS | ERA | CAPS | GLS | FILE NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarak Dhiab #10 | AM | 1974–1990 | 89 | 12 | The conductor of the 1978 pioneers and an African Footballer of the Year — Tunisia's first true superstar. |
| Sadok Sassi (Attouga) #1 | GK | 1963–1978 | 85 | 0 | The legendary keeper between the posts in 1978; a one-name folk hero in Tunis. |
| Radhi Jaïdi #5 | CB | 1996–2009 | 105 | 7 | Record cap-holder and the granite at the back of the 2004 champions. |
| Issam Jemaa #10 | FW | 2005–2014 | 84 | 36 | All-time leading scorer — a poacher who simply kept finding the net. |
| Francileudo Santos #9 | FW | 2004–2008 | 41 | 22 | Brazilian-born striker who scored the goals that won the 2004 title on home soil. |
| Khaled Badra #4 | CB | 1995–2006 | 96 | 10 | Captain and defensive bedrock through three World Cups and the 2004 triumph. |
| Chokri El Ouaer #1 | GK | 1994–2002 | 97 | 0 | The 1990s last line of defence and a fixture across France '98 and Korea/Japan. |
| Youssef Msakni #7 | AM | 2010–2024 | 104 | 23 | Mercurial playmaker of the modern era; tormentor-in-chief who beat France in 2022. |
| Wahbi Khazri #10 | FW | 2013–2022 | 73 | 25 | Set-piece specialist and the man who scored the goal that sank the world champions in Qatar. |
| Zoubeir Baya #8 | MF | 1991–2002 | 83 | 17 | Silky midfielder of the qualifying generation that ended Tunisia's 20-year finals exile. |
Football's great nearly-men of the desert: ever-present enough to feel like fixtures, never quite able to crack the second round. Tunisia gave Africa its first World Cup win in 1978 and have been knocking politely on the knockout door ever since — a 0–0 with West Germany here, a slaying of France there. A tidy, stubborn, much-loved side that the neutral always quietly roots for.