Tunisia have qualified for the World Cup for the seventh time in their history and the third consecutive edition, arriving in North America with one of the most remarkable qualifying campaigns any team has ever produced.
The Eagles of Carthage won nine of their ten African qualifying matches, drew one, and did not concede a single goal across the entire process.
Tunisia became the first team in World Cup history to qualify without conceding a goal in a full qualifying campaign.
That is a defensive record that no team has ever matched, and it sets the tone for exactly how coach Sabri Lamouchi wants his side to play in Group F.
They face the Netherlands, Sweden, and Japan — three technically excellent teams — with their opener against Sweden in Guadalajara on June 14.
Tunisia have never made it out of the group stage in their six previous World Cup appearances.
Lamouchi has made no secret of his ambition to change that in 2026.
Here are the 10 best soccer players in Tunisia at the 2026 World Cup.
1. Ellyes Skhiri — Midfielder (Captain)
Age: 31 | Club: Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)
The captain and the beating heart of this Tunisia squad.
Skhiri has 83 caps and is by far the most experienced player in the squad, having been a first-choice starter for the national team for well over a decade.
He is one of the best defensive midfielders in the Bundesliga, consistently excellent for Eintracht Frankfurt over several seasons, and brings a level of composure, organisation, and ball-winning quality that Tunisia simply cannot replace.
He broke up play, recycled possession, and protected the defence throughout the immaculate qualifying campaign.
When Tunisia conceded zero goals across ten qualifying matches, Skhiri was at the centre of that achievement every single time.
He is the player Lamouchi’s entire system is built around.
2. Hannibal Mejbri — Midfielder
Age: 23 | Club: Burnley (England)
The most recognisable Tunisian player in the English football market and the man identified as the future leader of this national team.
Mejbri was born in France to Tunisian parents, came through Manchester United’s academy, made 13 senior appearances for the Red Devils, and is now an established Premier League midfielder at Burnley, which he helped earn promotion from the Championship in 2024/25.
He has 45 caps and brings relentless energy, pressing intensity, and technical quality from a central midfield role.
In 2025/26 he made 25 Premier League appearances for Burnley, recording 1 goal and 3 assists.
“We are behind in our football, and it needs to be said,” Mejbri said publicly ahead of the tournament — the kind of honest, demanding leadership that is exactly what a team with Tunisia’s ambitions needs from its young stars.
He and Skhiri form one of the most combative midfield pairings at the 2026 World Cup.
3. Elias Achouri — Forward
Age: 27 | Club: FC Copenhagen (Denmark)
Tunisia’s most creative and dangerous forward option and a player who has Champions League experience from his time with Copenhagen.
Achouri has 30 caps and 4 international goals and featured for Copenhagen across seven Champions League appearances in 2025/26, giving him the biggest-game experience of any Tunisian forward at this tournament.
He is quick, direct, and capable of creating and finishing in equal measure, which makes him Tunisia’s most valuable weapon in attack when the team transitions from their defensive base.
4. Anis Ben Slimane — Midfielder
Age: 25 | Club: Norwich City (England)
One of Tunisia’s most technically gifted central midfielders and a player who has been a consistent performer in the English Championship.
Ben Slimane has 41 caps and 4 international goals from midfield and brings a different creative dimension alongside the combativeness of Skhiri and Mejbri.
He is comfortable in possession, able to pick passes into tight spaces, and contributes goals from deep positions.
His consistency for Norwich in the second tier of English football has made him a reliable and trusted figure in Lamouchi’s setup.
5. Montassar Talbi — Defender
Age: 28 | Club: Lorient (France)
Tunisia’s most experienced and reliable centre-back and one of the key architects of the historic clean-sheet qualifying campaign.
Talbi has 64 caps and 4 international goals — an impressive return for a central defender — and brings composure, aerial dominance, and a calm reading of the game that made him central to Tunisia not conceding in 10 qualifying matches.
He plays his club football at Lorient in Ligue 2 but his international consistency and caps total make him one of the most experienced defenders in this entire tournament.
6. Dylan Bronn — Defender
Age: 30 | Club: Servette (Switzerland)
One of Tunisia’s most experienced and dependable defenders and a player who has been a consistent presence in the backline throughout their recent qualifying and tournament campaigns.
Bronn has 52 caps and 2 international goals and brings physical strength, positioning, and aerial quality that anchors the right side of Tunisia’s defensive organisation.
He plays in the Swiss Super League with Servette and brings the kind of European club-level experience that complements the domestic Tunisian players in the squad.
7. Ali Abdi — Defender
Age: 32 | Club: Nice (France)
Tunisia’s most attack-minded defender and one of the squad’s most versatile and experienced European-based players.
Abdi has 46 caps and 7 international goals — an extraordinary number for a defender — and plays for Nice in Ligue 1, where his ability to play as a left-back or a left midfielder gives both his club and national team coach real flexibility.
His goal return from defensive positions makes him one of the most potent attacking full-backs Tunisia has ever had and a genuine set-piece threat throughout a World Cup.
8. Ismaël Gharbi — Midfielder
Age: 22 | Club: FC Augsburg (Germany)
One of the most exciting young talents in Tunisian football and a player who has been developing steadily in the Bundesliga.
Gharbi has 17 caps and 2 international goals and brings a technical quality and direct running from midfield that gives Lamouchi a creative option capable of unlocking defensive structures that the more conservative Skhiri-Mejbri pairing cannot.
At 22 and heading to his first World Cup, Gharbi is one of the most compelling young Tunisian players to watch in North America.
9. Khalil Ayari — Midfielder
Age: 21 | Club: Paris Saint-Germain (France)
The most high-profile young talent in Tunisian football and one of the most intriguing selections in the entire squad.
Ayari was born on February 2, 2005, and is 21 years old, already playing his club football at Paris Saint-Germain — the reigning Champions League winners — which gives him a platform and a learning environment that no other Tunisian player has experienced.
He has just 4 caps but Lamouchi’s decision to include him ahead of more experienced options says everything about the potential the coaching staff see in him.
His technical ability, composure, and football intelligence are advanced for someone his age.
This World Cup is an opportunity to show what PSG’s coaching staff already know.
10. Rayan Elloumi — Forward
Age: 18 | Club: Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Canada)
The youngest player in the Tunisia squad and one of the youngest players at the entire 2026 World Cup.
Elloumi was born on September 17, 2007, and is 18 years old, a forward who plays his club football in MLS for Vancouver Whitecaps, making him the only Tunisia squad member based in North America and therefore uniquely positioned for a tournament being played on his club’s doorstep.
He has 4 caps and brings the fearlessness and raw energy of a teenager with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
His inclusion is a bold statement by Lamouchi that this World Cup is not just about the present but about building something sustainable for Tunisian football’s future.
Conclusion
Tunisia arrive at the 2026 World Cup with the best qualifying record of any team at the tournament and an iron-willed defensive organisation under Lamouchi.
They have never progressed past the group stage in seven World Cup appearances.
With Skhiri marshalling the midfield, Talbi commanding the backline, and Hannibal Mejbri driving intensity across the pitch, this squad has what it takes to write a new chapter in Tunisian football history.
Check out more on the best African countries in football, every country that has won the World Cup, and the longest unbeaten runs in international football.
Who do you think will be Tunisia’s best player at the 2026 World Cup? Let us know in the comments!
