The position of Tunisia national football team manager was created in 1956, 39 men have held the position since its creation and the first was Rachid Turki. Yugoslav Milan Kristić was the first foreign coach to supervise Tunisia, between 1960 and 1961, when he led the team to qualify for its first international tournament, the 1960 Summer Olympics. Seven coaches have held the position on an interim basis: Faouzi Benzarti (one match during the 1994 African Cup of Nations), Sami Trabelsi (six matches in 2011, until his appointment on a full-time basis), Ruud Krol (two matches in 2013), Nizar Khanfir (one match in 2014), Maher Kanzari (two matches in 2018), Montasser Louhichi (four matches in 2024) and Kais Yaâkoubi (two matches in 2024).
French coach Roger Lemerre remains the longest-serving coach in Tunisia's history, having overseen the team from 25 September 2002 to 30 June 2008, over a period of 72 matches. He is also the most successful coach, having led the team to won its first Africa Cup of Nations title in 2004. He also led the team during the 2005 Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. During his coaching career, Faouzi Benzarti has coached the Tunisian national team four times in 12 matches. The first was as an interim coach during the second match of the 1994 African Cup of Nations against Zaire, the second during the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, the third during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, and the last during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.
In 2024, a coaching dispute occurred in the team, as three coaches took turns in charge of the team after the dismissal of Jalel Kadri on 24 January. Montasser Louhichi was appointed temporarily on 26 January for two friendly matches in June and the third and fourth matchdays of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, and then Faouzi Benzarti was appointed on 1 July, the fourth time he had taken over the task in his career, leading the team in four matches of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification after two wins, a draw and a defeat, he resigned from his position and was replaced by his assistant Kais Yaâkoubi temporarily on 5 November, leading the team during the fifth and sixth days of the Afcon qualifiers, where he led the team to qualify after a win and a defeat.
The Tunisia manager's role means he has sole responsibility for all on-the-field elements of the Tunisian team. Among other activities, this includes selecting the national team squad, the starting team, captain, tactics, substitutes and penalty-takers. The coach has a relative freedom to choose his staff as some of coaches refused to coach the Tunisian national team due to the Tunisian Football Federation’s refusal to appoint foreign assistant coaches. This was the case with Jacques Santini in 2008 and Raymond Domenech. However, the Tunisian Football Federation agreed to Henryk Kasperczak's proposal in 2015 to appoint Frenchman Patrick Hesse to the team.
List
Managers in italics were hired as caretakers.
ManagerFromToTournaments Rachid Turki1956195700000.00% Habib Draoua (DTN) Hechmi Cherif Larbi Soudani195719601572646.67% Milan Kristić1960196123541421.74% 1960 Summer Olympic Games – Group stage 1962 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify Frane Matošić19611962612316.67% 1962 African Cup of Nations – Third place André Gérard19631965341591044.12% 1963 Arab Cup – Champions 1963 African Cup of Nations – Group stage Mokhtar Ben Nacef196519681558233.33% 1965 African Cup of Nations – Runners-up 1968 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify Radojica Radojičić17 November 196817 April 1969923422.22% Sereta Begović27 April 196913 June 196950410.00% 1970 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify Ameur Hizem (1)11 November 197016 July 1974331661148.48% 1974 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify Andrej Prean NagySeptember 1974February 19751041540.00% Abdelmajid Chetali12 February 197520 December 19785218181634.61% 1976 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify 1978 African Cup of Nations – Fourth Place 1978 FIFA World Cup – Group stage Ameur Hizem (2)December 1978April 1979311133.33% Ahmed DhibJuly 1979August 19801433521.43% 1982 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify Ryszard KuleszaAugust 1981December 1983251051040.00% 1982 African Cup of Nations – Group stage 1984 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify Youssef Zouaoui (1)September 1984February 198626133854.16% 1986 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify 1986 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify Jean VincentOctober 1986April 19871012710.00% 1988 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify Taoufik Ben OthmanSeptember 1987July 19881643925.00% Antoni Piechniczek (1)August 1988September 1988933333.33% 1988 Summer Olympic Games – Group stage Mokhtar TliliNovember 1988July 19891434721.43% 1990 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify Antoni Piechniczek (2)July 1989November 1989822425.00% 1990 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify Mrad MahjoubApril 1990February 199326813530.77% 1992 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify 1994 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify Youssef Zouaoui (2)March 1993March 19941346330.77% Faouzi Benzarti (1)March 1994March 199410100.00% 1994 African Cup of Nations – Group stage Henryk Kasperczak (1)May 1994June 19985930111850.84% 1996 African Cup of Nations – Runners-up 1998 African Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals 1998 FIFA World Cup – Group stage Franco ScoglioSeptember 1998February 200132198559.73% 2000 African Cup of Nations – Fourth Place Eckhard KrautzunMarch 2001July 2001742157.14% 2002 FIFA World Cup – Group stage Henri Michel28 November 200113 March 2002622233.33% 2002 African Cup of Nations – Group stage Ammar Souayah26 March 200224 July 2002 60330.00% Roger Lemerre25 September 200230 June 20086740151259.70% 2004 African Cup of Nations – Champions 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup – Group stage 2006 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals 2006 FIFA World Cup – Group stage 2008 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals Humberto Coelho30 June 200818 November 20091554333.33% 2010 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify Faouzi Benzarti (2)23 November 200923 January 201040310.00% 2010 Africa Cup of Nations – Group stage Bertrand Marchand4 June 201015 December 2010631250.00% Sami Trabelsi11 March 20118 February 2013321391040.63% 2012 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals 2013 Africa Cup of Nations – Group stage Nabil Maâloul (1)14 February 20138 September 2013723228.57% Ruud Krol18 September 201317 November 201320110.00% 2014 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify Nizar Khanfir19 February 201426 March 201410100.00% Georges Leekens27 March 201426 June 20151978436.84% 2015 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals Henryk Kasperczak (2)13 July 20157 April 2017261251046.15% 2017 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals Nabil Maâloul (2)27 April 201712 July 20181364346.15% 2018 FIFA World Cup – Group stage Faouzi Benzarti (3)28 July 201820 October 20183300100.00% Maher Kanzari21 October 201821 November 201820020.00% Alain Giresse14 December 201821 August 20191254341.67% 2019 Africa Cup of Nations – Fourth Place Mondher Kebaier29 August 201930 January 202231194861.29% 2021 FIFA Arab Cup – Runners-up 2021 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals Jalel Kadri30 January 202224 January 202427147651.85% 2022 FIFA World Cup – Group stage 2023 Africa Cup of Nations – Group stage Montasser Louhichi26 January 202430 June 2024413025.00% Faouzi Benzarti (4)1 July 202422 October 2024421150.00% Kais Yaâkoubi5 November 202418 November 2024210150.00% Sami Trabelsi (2)10 February 20254 January 202619115357.89% 2025 FIFA Arab Cup – Group stage 2025 Africa Cup of Nations – Round of 16 Sabri Lamouchi14 January 202616 June 2026511320.00% Hervé Renard16 June 20264 July 2026200200.00% 2026 FIFA World Cup – Group stage Mouin Chaâbani28 July 2026present000000.00%
Statistics
Manager Stats First coach Rachid Turki 1956 Longest period Roger Lemerre Shortest period Faouzi Benzarti (1) Most matches Roger Lemerre 67 matches Less matches Faouzi Benzarti (1) 1 match Most wins Roger Lemerre 40 wins Most defeats Henryk Kasperczak (1) 18 defeats Highest win% Faouzi Benzarti (3) 100.00% Lowest win% Sereta Begović Ammar Souayah Ruud Krol Faouzi Benzarti (1&2) 0.00%
By nationality CountryManagers 19 831
References