This article relates the participation of Tunisia during the 2022 FIFA World Cup organized in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022. This is the country's sixth participation in the competition after 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2018. Tunisia meets France, Denmark and Australia in Group D. For the sixth time, Tunisia failed to qualify for the second round of the World Cup, as Tunisia finished the tournament ranked 21st after a 0–0 draw with Denmark, a 0–1 defeat against Australia and a 1–0 victory over France.
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. 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, who received a red card four minutes later. The Tunisians finished 1–0, so a goalless draw in the second leg was enough for them to qualify. 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. 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. The top scorer is captain Wahbi Khazri with three goals, all scored in the second round. He received a second yellow card in the last match of the second round and was replaced by Youssef Msakni in the third round.. 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. The second round was supposed to start in March 2020, but is postponed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and does not start until September 2021. On 3 September 2021, the national team begins its matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Tunisia wins the first three matches without conceding a goal, against Equatorial Guinea in Radès 3–0, against Zambia in Ndola 2–0 and against Mauritania 3–0, followed by a draw against the latter in Nouakchott 0–0 and a defeat against Equatorial Guinea in Malabo 0–1, which postpones the qualification for the next round on the last day. Coach Mondher Kebaier faces heavy criticism from fans. This time the team's opponent is Equatorial Guinea. If the two countries are level on points before the last match, Equatorial Guinea draw 1–1 against Mauritania while Tunisia secures first place in its group with a victory 3–1 over Zambia, qualification for the third round being achieved on 16 November, Tunisia concluding the pool matches with four wins, one draw and one loss. 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.
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, 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. 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. As for the return match at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, in front of 50,000 spectators, it ended in a draw 0–0, so that the team qualified for the World Cup for the sixth time in its history.
Qualification statistics
Matches played + Number of matches played in qualifyingMatchesPlayers 8Ali Maâloul, Aïssa Laïdouni 7Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, Seifeddine Jaziri 6Farouk Ben Mustapha, Dylan Bronn, Montassar Talbi, Anis Ben Slimane, Naïm Sliti, Wahbi Khazri 5Ellyes Skhiri, Ferjani Sassi, Yassine Meriah 4Hamza Mathlouthi, Ghailene Chaalali, Hamza Rafia, Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, Youssef Msakni 3Wajdi Kechrida, Mohamed Dräger, Saîf-Eddine Khaoui 2Bechir Ben Saïd, Nader Ghandri, Saad Bguir, Taha Yassine Khenissi 1Bilel Ifa, Hannibal Mejbri, Mortadha Ben Ouanes, Sebastian Tounekti 0Aymen Dahmen, Ali Jemal, Mouez Hassen, Ali Abdi, Moataz Zemzemi, Oussama Haddadi, Issam Jebali
Scorers +Qualifying goal statistics Goals Players Opponents 3Wahbi Khazri, , 2Ellyes Skhiri, 1Seifeddine JaziriAïssa LaïdouniAli MaâloulAnis Ben SlimaneDylan BronnMohamed Dräger Moussa Sissako
Preparation
Draw The draw for the final phase of the 2022 World Cup takes place on 1 April 2022 at the Doha Exhibition Centre. Tunisia are assigned to Pot 3 and could be drawn against defending champions Brazil, France, Germany or hosts Qatar. Tunisia meet France, Denmark and Australia in Group D.
The Tunisians haven't scored against any of these teams in their previous World Cup appearances. There have been four friendlies against France, two draws and two losses, and the Tunisians have faced the France B team twice at the Mediterranean Games, winning and losing once. They lost to Denmark at the 1960 Summer Olympics and in preparation for the 2002 World Cup; they also lost to Australia in a friendly match and won the 2005 Confederations Cup.
Preparation matches reparations start early, as the team plays two matches for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, the first against Equatorial Guinea in Radès 4–0 victory and the second against Botswana in Francistown draw 0–0. Subsequently, the team is set to play the 2022 Kirin Cup Soccer in Japan from 10 to 14 June 2022, with the participation of three other teams: Japan, Chile and Ghana. In the semi-finals, Tunisia beat Chile 2–0 and then Japan 3–0 and thus won the title for the first time.
Ferjani Sassi was named the tournament's best player, while his compatriot Issam Jebali finished top scorer with two goals. After that, the team played two friendlies: the first against Comoros, which ended in victory 1–0, and the second which ended in a heavy loss against Brazil 5–1. The Carthage Eagles end their preparations with a victory against Iran with a score of 2–0 a few days before the world cup, the match not being broadcast and taking place behind closed doors at the request of the Iranian federation.
Team
Squad
Tunisia announced their final squad on 14 November 2022.
Kit Italian company Kappa unveils the national team uniform on 29 September 2022. The front decorations of the shirt form the shield of Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca.
Group stage
Group D
In the first match in Group D, Mohamed Dräger threatens the opponent's goal, then Issam Jebali dominates Kasper Schmeichel, but the situation is prevented by an offside. In the 43rd minute, Jebali comes face to face with Schmeichel after hitting the goal and tries to beat the goalkeeper with a through shot, but he uses his thumbs and fends off the finish. Christian Eriksen then makes an attempt beyond the goal line, but Aymen Dahmen is illustrated with a save. From the corner that follows, Andreas Cornelius wastes an opportunity by finding himself alone at the far post, but his header only seals the structure of the goals. Due to the subsequent dominance over the ball, despite their best efforts, the Danes could not find a solution against the Tunisia defence, and the match ended in a goalless draw. Thanks to his performance in this match, Aïssa Laïdouni receives the man of the match award.
In the second match, the team are led to a 1–0 loss against Australia, with the technical framework and the players receiving criticism due to the weakness of the midfield and the attack, which reduces the chances of Tunisia to qualify for the round of 16. In the final game against world champions France, Wahbi Khazri put Tunisia ahead in the 58th minute with a low shot to the bottom right corner. At this stage, Tunisia is in a position to qualify in the group. However, two minutes later, Australia took the lead against Denmark in the other match, which sent Tunisia out of the knockout stage. Captain Khazri wins the Man of the Match award. This is Tunisia's first victory against a European team in the World Cup, and the team have collected the most points (four points) in the group stage since their first appearance in 1978 FIFA World Cup (three points). In this context, Wahbi Khazri is retiring from international retirement, after 74 games in which he scored 25 goals. Standings
In the round of 16: The winners of Group D, France, advanced to play the runners-up of Group C, Poland. The runners-up of Group D, Australia, advanced to play the winners of Group C, Argentina. Denmark vs Tunisia The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in 2002, a 2–1 win for Denmark in a friendly game. Denmark were not able to capitalize in their opening game; although Tunisia failed to score a single goal themselves, they still managed to secure their match without problems, with Aïssa Laïdouni earning the Man of the Match.
GK 1 Kasper SchmeichelCB 2 Joachim AndersenCB 4 Simon Kjær (c) CB 6 Andreas ChristensenDM 8 Thomas Delaney CM 23Pierre-Emile HøjbjergCM 10Christian EriksenRW 13Rasmus Kristensen LW 5 Joakim MæhleCF 11Andreas Skov Olsen CF 12Kasper Dolberg Substitutions:MF 14Mikkel Damsgaard FW 21Andreas Cornelius MF 7 Mathias Jensen MF 25Jesper Lindstrøm Manager:Kasper Hjulmand GK 16Aymen DahmenCB 6 Dylan BronnCB 4 Yassine MeriahCB 3 Montassar TalbiRM 20Mohamed Dräger CM 17Ellyes SkhiriCM 14Aïssa Laïdouni LM 24Ali AbdiAM 25Anis Ben Slimane AM 7 Youssef Msakni (c) CF 9 Issam Jebali Substitutions:FW 23Naïm Sliti MF 8 Hannibal Mejbri FW 11Taha Yassine Khenissi DF 21Wajdi Kechrida MF 13Ferjani Sassi Manager:Jalel Kadri
Man of the Match: Aïssa Laïdouni (Tunisia)
Assistant referees: Alberto Morín (Mexico) Miguel Hernández (Mexico) Fourth official: Saíd Martínez (Honduras) Reserve assistant referee: Walter López (Honduras) Video assistant referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico) Assistant video assistant referees: Armando Villarreal (United States) Gabriel Chade (Argentina) Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain) Stand-by assistant video assistant referee: Mahmoud Abouelregal (Egypt)
Tunisia vs Australia The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in Tunisia's 2–0 win at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Australia beat Tunisia 1–0 as a result of a Mitchell Duke header in the 23rd minute to secure their first win in a World Cup match since they defeated Serbia 2–1 in 2010. This was also Australia's first clean sheet since they drew 0–0 with Chile in 1974.
GK 16Aymen DahmenCB 6 Dylan Bronn CB 4 Yassine MeriahCB 3 Montassar TalbiRM 20Mohamed Dräger CM 17Ellyes SkhiriCM 14Aïssa Laïdouni LM 24Ali Abdi AM 23Naïm SlitiAM 7 Youssef Msakni (c)CF 9 Issam Jebali Substitutions:MF 13Ferjani Sassi FW 10Wahbi Khazri DF 21Wajdi Kechrida FW 11Taha Yassine Khenissi Manager:Jalel Kadri GK 1 Mathew Ryan (c)RB 5 Fran Karačić CB 19Harry SouttarCB 4 Kye RowlesLB 16Aziz BehichDM 13Aaron MooyCM 22Jackson IrvineCM 14Riley McGree RF 7 Mathew Leckie CF 15Mitchell Duke LF 23Craig Goodwin Substitutions:FW 9 Jamie Maclaren MF 10Ajdin Hrustic DF 2 Miloš Degenek FW 11Awer Mabil MF 26Keanu Baccus Manager:Graham Arnold
Man of the Match: Mitchell Duke (Australia)