Tunisia has participated three times in the FIFA Arab Cup, the biggest men's football event in the Arab world. Tunisia was one of five teams participating in the first edition of the Arab Nations Cup, held in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963. At the time, the tournament was official. Under the leadership of French coach André Gérard, Tunisia won the title, finishing first in the group after winning all four of its matches and collecting eight points against Syria 1–0, Jordan 4–0, Kuwait 5–1, and Lebanon 1–0. Mongi Haddad was the tournament's top scorer with four goals. Tunisia missed the next three editions and did not return until 1988. Under the leadership of Mokhtar Tlili, the team was forced to play two qualifying matches, drawing 0–0 against Algeria and winning 2–1 against Mauritania. During the finals, the team's performances did not live up to expectations, and they were eliminated in the first round after three draws against Iraq 1–1, Saudi Arabia 1–1, and Lebanon 1–1, as well as a 0–1 defeat against Egypt.
On 25 July 2020, FIFA invited Tunisia to participate in the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar, the first edition under the auspices of FIFA with the participation of sixteen teams in the final tournament. Tunisia advanced directly to the finals without qualifying, thanks to its first place in the Arab world in the FIFA world rankings. The team finished first in its group after two wins against Mauritania 5–1 and the United Arab Emirates 1–0, as well as a surprise defeat against Syria 0–2. In the quarter-finals, the team defeated Oman 2–1 and, in the semifinals, Egypt 1–0 thanks to a goal in the 90+5 minute. However, Tunisia lost the final to Algeria 0–2 after extra time. Seifeddine Jaziri was the tournament's top scorer with four.
On 26 April 2025, FIFA invited Tunisia to participate in the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar. Tunisia advanced directly to the finals without qualifying, thanks to its fourth place in the Arab world in the FIFA world rankings. Their performance fell short of expectations, as the team was eliminated in the group stage after a 1–0 defeat against Syria, a 2–2 draw against Palestine, and a 3–0 victory against Qatar.
Overall record FIFA Arab Cup recordFIFA Arab Cup qualification recordYearRoundPosition*Squad 1963Champions1st4400111SquadQualified automatically 1964Did not enterDid not enter 1966 1985 1988Group stage7th403134Squad211021 1992Did not enterDid not enter 1998 2002 2012 2021Runners-up2nd640296SquadQualified automatically 2025Group stage9th311153SquadQualified automaticallyTotal179442814—211021—
Matches
YearStageDateOpponentResultTunisia scorers1 19631Final tournament2 April 19631–0Ben Amor 2Final tournament4 April 19634–0Haddad Jedidi Henia 3Final tournament6 April 19635–1Habacha Jedidi Henia Haddad 4Final tournament7 April 19631–0Haddad 2 19885Group stage9 July 19881–1Mahjoubi 6Group stage11 July 19881–1Maaloul 7Group stage13 July 19880–1—8Group stage17 July 19881–1Mehedhebi 3 20219Group stage30 November 20215–1Jaziri Ben Larbi Msakni 10Group stage3 December 20210–2—11Group stage6 December 20211–0Jaziri 12Quarter-finals10 December 20212–1Jaziri Msakni 13Semi-finals15 December 20211–0El Solia 14Final18 December 20210–2 — 202515Group stage1 December 20250–1—16Group stage4 December 20252–2Layouni Chaouat 17Group stage7 December 20253–0Ben Romdhane Meriah Ben Ali
Tournaments 1963 Arab Cup In early 1963, the Tunisian Football Federation appointed French coach André Gérard to lead the team in the inaugural edition of the Arab Cup, held in Beirut, Lebanon. The team won the title by winning all of its matches, defeating Syria 1–0, Jordan 4–0, Kuwait 5–1, and Lebanon 1–0. Tunisia won its first title since independence, and Mongi Haddad finished the tournament as the top scorer with four goals.
Final tournament
1988 Arab Cup
Group stage
2021 FIFA Arab Cup
After a nine-year hiatus, FIFA decided to organize the Arab Cup under its new name, the FIFA Arab Cup. On 25 July 2020, Tunisia was called up to participate in the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup. The team did not have to go through the qualifiers due to its first-place Arab team according to the FIFA World Ranking. The draw was held on 27 April 2021, and Tunisia was placed alongside the United Arab Emirates, Syria, and Mauritania, who qualified from the qualifiers.
Tunisia played their first group stage match against Mauritania and achieved a resounding 5–1 victory with two goals from Seifeddine Jaziri, two goals from Firas Ben Larbi and a goal from captain Youssef Msakni. The team suffered a shock defeat in the second match against underdogs Syria, 2–0, but they still advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating the United Arab Emirates 1–0 with a goal from Jaziri, placing Tunisia top of the group. In the quarterfinals, the team defeated Oman 2–1 thanks to goals from Jaziri and Msakni. In the semifinals, Tunisia clashed with rivals Egypt, but managed to score a goal in the 95th minute after a free kick from Naïm Sliti, which was deflected into the net by Egypt's Amr El Solia, and secured qualification by ending the match with a 1–0 score. This victory allowed Tunisia to reach its first FIFA final in the country's history. In the final match, the team faced Algeria, which they defeated 0–2 in extra time. Jaziri finished as the tournament's top scorer with four goals and won the FIFA Golden Boot award. Despite losing the title, the team's performance restored confidence among the fans, who attended the tournament in the tens of thousands, especially after the defeat against Syria and in the playoffs. In this context, they were congratulated by FIFA and named the best fans of the tournament.
Group stage
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
GK 22Mouez HassenRB 20Mohamed DrägerCB 2 Bilel IfaCB 3 Montassar TalbiLB 14Amine Ben Hamida CM 6 Ghaylen ChaaleliCM 13Ferjani Sassi RW 7 Youssef Msakni (c) AM 10Hannibal Mejbri LW 23Naïm Sliti CF 11Seifeddine Jaziri Substitutions:MF 15Ali Ben Romdhane DF 12Ali Maâloul MF 18Saad Bguir MF 9 Firas Ben Larbi Manager:Mondher Kebaier GK 23Raïs M'Bolhi (c)RB 3 Houcine Benayada CB 4 Djamel BenlamriCB 19Abdelkader BedraneLB 20Ilyes Chetti CM 18Houssem Eddine Mrezigue CM 14Sofiane Bendebka RW 7 Tayeb Meziani AM 11Yacine Brahimi LW 10Youcef BelaïliCF 9 Baghdad Bounedjah Substitutions:MF 8 Amir Sayoud MF 17Zakaria Draoui DF 5 Mehdi Tahrat DF 12Mohamed Amine Tougai Manager:Madjid Bougherra
Man of the Match: Amir Sayoud (Algeria)
Assistant referees: Rafael Foltyn (Germany) Christian Gittelmann (Germany) Fourth official: Matthew Conger (New Zealand) Reserve assistant referee: Tevita Makasini (Tonga) Video assistant referee: Christian Dingert (Germany) Assistant video assistant referees: Kevin Blom (Netherlands) Jun Mihara (Japan) Shaun Evans (Australia) |}Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Maximum of twelve named substitutes Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time
2025 FIFA Arab Cup
On 26 April 2025, FIFA invited Tunisia to participate in the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar. On 21 November, Sami Trabelsi unveiled the list of players selected for the FIFA Arab Cup, despite the absence of the biggest names playing in Europe, whose clubs had refused to release them. In the opening match, despite dominating the first half, the team suffered a 1–0 defeat against Syria. In the second match against Palestine, Tunisia opened the scoring through Amor Layouni in the 16th minute, followed by Firas Chaouat's second goal in the 51st minute. However, the team's performance subsequently declined, and Palestine managed to pull one back in the 61st minute before equalizing in the 85th minute, thus securing a 2–2 draw. In the third match, Tunisia defeated Qatar, the host country and 2023 AFC Asian Cup champions. Tunisia opened the scoring in the 16th minute through Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, Yassine Meriah doubled the lead in the 62nd minute, and Mohamed Ben Ali scored the third goal in the 94th minute, sealing a 3–0 victory. The draw between Syria and Palestine resulted in Tunisia's elimination from the group stage.
Group stage
Statistics
Head to head
VersusPldWDLGFGADefFirst match dateLast match date100102–218 December 202118 December 2021210111013 July 198815 December 202110101109 July 19889 July 1988110040 +44 April 19634 April 1963110051 +46 April 19636 April 1963211021 +17 April 196317 July 1988110051 +430 November 202130 November 2021110021 +110 December 202110 December 202110102204 December 20254 December 2025110030 +37 December 20257 December 2025101011011 July 198811 July 1988310213–22 April 19631 December 2025110010 +16 December 20216 December 2021179442814+142 April 19637 December 2025
Goalscorers RankPlayer1963198820212025Goals1Seifeddine Jaziri44Mongi Haddad442Mohamed Salah Jedidi333Firas Ben Larbi22Youssef Msakni22Hammadi Henia224Raouf Ben Amor11Mohsen Habacha11Mohamed Ali Mahjoubi11Nabil Maâloul11Taoufik Mehedhebi11Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane11Yassine Meriah11Amor Layouni11Firas Chaouat11Mohamed Ben Ali11 Amr El Solia (o.g.)11Total1139528
Awards Top scorer
1963: Mongi Haddad 2021: Seifeddine Jaziri
Team of the Tournament
2021: Seifeddine Jaziri, Youssef Msakni Man of the match 2021: Seifeddine Jaziri (vs. Mauritania; Group B) 2021: Hannibal Mejbri (vs. United Arab Emirates; Group B) 2021: Mohamed Dräger (vs. Oman; Quarter-finals) 2021: Hannibal Mejbri (vs. Egypt; Semi-finals) 2025: Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (vs. Qatar; Group A)
See also Tunisia at the FIFA World Cup Tunisia at the FIFA Confederations Cup Tunisia at the Africa Cup of Nations Tunisia at the African Nations Championship References
External links