The Tunisia national football team (Arabic: منتخب تونس لكرة القدم), nicknamed Les Aigles de Carthage (The Eagles of Carthage), is the national team of Tunisia and is controlled by the Fédération Tunisienne de Football. They have qualified for four FIFA World Cups, the first one in 1978, but have yet to make it out of the first round. Nevertheless, they created history in that 1978 tournament in Argentina by becoming the first African side to win a World Cup match, beating Mexico 3–1. They also held defending champions West Germany to a goalless draw before bowing out. It took them 20 years to return to the finals but they have since qualified for the past three tournaments in succession, in 1998, 2002 and 2006. They were the only African team to appear at 2002 and 2006–2002 qualifiers Senegal, Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa were replaced by Ivory Coast, Angola, Ghana and Togo, who were all first-time qualifiers. Tunisia also won the African Nations Cup in 2004, for the first time in their history, when they hosted the tournament. [edit] World Cup record | Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |  1930 to  1958 | Did not enter |  1962 | Did not qualify |  1966 | Withdrew |  1970 to  1974 | Did not qualify |  1978 | Round 1 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |  1982 to  1994 | Did not qualify |  1998 | Round 1 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |   2002 | Round 1 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | | 2006 | Round 1 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |  2010 | Did not qualify | | Total | 4/19 | | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 17 | [edit] FIFA Confederations Cup record | Year | Round | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |  1992 to 2003 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | | 2005 | Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | | 2009 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | | Total | 1/8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | [edit] African Nations Cup record For  2010, see 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) - **Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won.
[edit] 1978 World Cup Tunisia's first World Cup was the 1978 competition held in Argentina. They created history by becoming the 1st African team to win a World Cup game, defeating Mexico 3-1. An unlucky 1-0 defeat to Poland followed, but The Eagles Of Carthage then held European giants West Germany to a 0-0 draw. But that wasn't enough to send them through to the knockout rounds. Despite that tournament being one of Tunisia's finest, they failed to qualify for the World Cup again until 20 years later. [edit] 1998 World Cup Prior to the 1998 World Cup, Tunisia had gained a 'minnow' reputation, and were going through possibly their worst era ever. However, Adel Selmi's team put in a good performance at the World Cup, but a 2-0 defeat to England and a 1-0 loss against Colombia sent them home at the group stage. Their only point was in a 1-1 draw with Romainia. [edit] 2002 World Cup Tunisia made it to their 2nd successive World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. They started with a 2-0 loss against Russia, but a superb Raouf Bouazine free kick gave them a 1-1 draw against Belgium. Their final game resulted in a 2-0 defeat to co-hosts Japan, meaning they were knocked out in the group stages. [edit] 2004 African Nations Cup Tunisia's first major honour was the 2004 African Cup of Nations, which they hosted. Manager Roger Lemerre became a Tunisian legend after the victory, but it wasn't easy. The tournament started with a 2-1 win over minnows Rwanda in Rades. That was followed by a comfortable 3-0 win against DR Congo and a 1-1 draw with Guinea. The quarter-finals saw them beat much fancied Senegal 1-0, and that was the moment where Tunisia seriously believed they win the competition. The semi-final was a memorable affair - it came against favourites Nigeria. Jay-Jay Okocha scored a penalty for the Super Eagles, but with less than 10 minutes remaining, Tunisia captain Khaled Badra also scored from the spot. The game finished 1-1 and went to penalties. Veteran keeper Ali Boumnijel saved Peter Odemwingie's strike to put Tunisia in a commanding position, allowing a 20-year-old Karim Haggui to score the winning spot kick and send the host nation through to their 3rd Nations Cup final. The final was against their fierce local rivals Morrocco,and Brazilian-born striker Francileudo Santos put The Eagles Of Carthage 1-0 ahead on just 4 minutes. Morrocco equalised just before half-time, but Ziad Jaziri made it 2-1 on 51 minutes to win it for Tunisia [edit] 2006 World Cup At first many Tunisians criticized Roger Lemerre for not putting in Selim Benachour who many considered the best player for the country who currently plays for Vitoria SC Tunisia managed to draw their opening game against Saudi Arabia. They took the lead at half time thanks to Ziad Jaziri, but Tunisia didn't start well in the second half and Saudi Arabia equalized from Yasser Al-Qahtani. Substitute Sami Al-Jaber came on and scored with 4 minutes to go to put the Saudi's 2–1 up, but in added time Bolton defender Radhi Jaidi headed in an equalizer. Tunisia lost their second match to Spain. Jaouhar Mnari put Tunisia in the lead with a goal in the eighth minute that kept them up until halftime. However, Spain came back in the second half scoring an equalizer that came from Raúl (72') and two additional goals from Fernando Torres (76', pen 90') that defeated Tunisia with a final score of 3–1. Tunisia lost their last group match to Ukraine with a 1–0 defeat ending their 2006 World Cup. Andriy Shevchenko(70') scored the only goal from a dubious penalty kick. [edit] Current Squad The following players have been called up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Mozambique on November 14, 2009. | No. | Pos. | Player | DoB (Age) | Caps | Goals | Club | | Goalkeeper | | 1 | GK | Hamdi Kasraoui | January 18, 1983 (1983-01-18) (age 26) | 29 | 0 | RC Lens | | 16 | GK | Aymen Mathlouthi | September 14, 1984 (1984-09-14) (age 25) | 27 | 0 |  Étoile du Sahel | | GK | Jassem Khalloufi | September 2, 1981 (1981-09-02) (age 28) | 0 | 0 | CS Sfaxien | | Defender | | 2 | DF | Saïf Ghezal | June 30, 1981 (1981-06-30) (age 28) | 27 | 1 |  BSC Young Boys | | 3 | DF | Karim Haggui | January 20, 1984 (1984-01-20) (age 25) | 62 | 5 | Hannover 96 | | 4 | DF | Radhouène Felhi | May 25, 1984 (1984-05-25) (age 25) | 23 | 2 | TSV 1860 München | | 5 | DF | Ammar Jemal | April 20, 1987 (1987-04-20) (age 22) | 6 | 2 | Étoile du Sahel | | 14 | DF | Khaled Souissi | May 20, 1985 (1985-05-20) (age 24) | 10 | 0 | Club Africain | | 18 | DF | Yassin Mikari | January 9, 1983 (1983-01-09) (age 26) | 25 | 0 | FC Sochaux | | DF | Aymen Abdennour | August 6, 1989 (1989-08-06) (age 20) | 10 | 1 | Étoile du Sahel | | DF | Sofian Chahed | April 18, 1983 (1983-04-18) (age 26) | 7 | 0 | Hannover 96 | | Midfielder | | 6 | MF | Hocine Ragued | February 11, 1983 (1983-02-11) (age 26) | 20 | 0 |  Slavia Prague | | 7 | MF | Chaouki Ben Saada | July 1, 1984 (1984-07-01) (age 25) | 30 | 4 | OGC Nice | | 8 | MF | Khaled Korbi | December 16, 1985 (1985-12-16) (age 23) | 6 | 0 | Espérance de Tunis | | 10 | MF | Oussama Darragi | April 3, 1987 (1987-04-03) (age 22) | 14 | 2 | Espérance de Tunis | | 12 | MF | Jamel Saihi | January 21, 1987 (1987-01-21) (age 22) | 4 | 1 | Montpellier HSC | | MF | Haytham Mrabet | October 15, 1980 (1980-10-15) (age 29) | 4 | 0 | CS Sfaxien | | Forward | | 9 | FW | Ali Zitouni | January 11, 1981 (1981-01-11) (age 28) | 44 | 14 |  Antalyaspor | | 11 | FW | Fahid Ben Khalfallah | October 19, 1982 (1982-10-19) (age 27) | 9 | 1 | Valenciennes FC | | 13 | FW | Zouheir Dhaouadi | January 11, 1988 (1988-01-11) (age 21) | 4 | 0 | Club Africain | | 15 | FW | Amine Chermiti | December 26, 1987 (1987-12-26) (age 21) | 29 | 10 | Al-Ittihad | | 17 | FW | Issam Jemâa | January 28, 1984 (1984-01-28) (age 25) | 34 | 13 | RC Lens | | FW | Sami Allagui | May 28, 1986 (1986-05-28) (age 23) | 2 | 1 | SpVgg Greuther Fürth | | [edit] Recent Call Ups The following players have also been called up to the Tunisia squad within the last twelve months. - Goalkeepers
- Defenders
| Player | DoB/Age | Caps | Goals | Team | Most Recent Call up | | Saber Ben Frej | July 3, 1979 (1979-07-03) (age 30) | 19 | 5 | Le Mans UC72 | Friendly match v. France, October 14, 2008 | | Anis Boussaidi | April 10, 1981 (1981-04-10) (age 28) | 3 | 0 |  FC Red Bull Salzburg | Friendly match v. Ghana, November 19, 2008 | | Abdelmonem Derbali | February 10, 1981 (1981-02-10) (age 28) | 0 | 0 | Club Africain | Friendly match v. Ghana, November 19, 2008 | | Khaled Zeïri | August 25, 1986 (1986-08-25) (age 23) | 0 | 0 | Stade Tunisien | Friendly match v. Ghana, November 19, 2008 | | Souheïl Ben Radhia | August 26, 1985 (1985-08-26) (age 24) | 1 | 0 | Étoile du Sahel | Friendly match v. Netherlands, February 1, 2009 | | Radhi Jaïdi | August 30, 1975 (1975-08-30) (age 34) | 101 | 7 | Southampton F.C. | Friendly match v. Netherlands, February 1, 2009 | | Mehdi Meriah | June 5, 1979 (1979-06-05) (age 30) | 9 | 0 | Étoile du Sahel | Friendly match v. Côte d'Ivoire, March 26, 2009 | | Yamen Ben Zekri | July 10, 1979 (1979-07-10) (age 30) | 4 | 0 | free agent | Friendly match v. Côte d'Ivoire, August 12, 2009 | | Bilel Iffa | March 9, 1990 (1990-03-09) (age 19) | 0 | 0 | Club Africain | 2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Nigeria, September 6, 2009 | | Zied Derbali | October 11, 1984 (1984-10-11) (age 25) | 0 | 0 | Espérance de Tunis | 2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Kenya, October 11, 2009 | - Midfielders
| Player | DoB/Age | Caps | Goals | Team | Most Recent Call up | | Wissem Ben Yahia | September 9, 1984 (1984-09-09) (age 25) | 7 | 0 | Club Africain | Unknown | | Anis Boujelbene | February 6, 1978 (1978-02-06) (age 31) | 20 | 2 | Club Africain | Friendly match v. France, October 14, 2008 | | Mejdi Mosrati | September 13, 1986 (1986-09-13) (age 23) | 2 | 0 | Étoile du Sahel | Friendly match v. France, October 14, 2008 | | Mohamed Ali Nafkha | January 25, 1985 (1985-01-25) (age 24) | 11 | 1 | Étoile du Sahel | Friendly match v. Ghana, November 19, 2008 | | Mejdi Traoui | December 13, 1983 (1983-12-13) (age 25) | 2 | 0 | FC Red Bull Salzburg | Friendly match v. Ghana, November 19, 2008 | | Fabien Camus | February 28, 1985 (1985-02-28) (age 24) | 1 | 0 |  K.R.C. Genk | Friendly match v. Netherlands, February 1, 2009 | | Aïmen Demai | December 10, 1982 (1982-12-10) (age 26) | 1 | 0 | Alemannia Aachen | Friendly match v. Netherlands, February 1, 2009 | | Mehdi Nafti | November 28, 1978 (1978-11-28) (age 31) | 41 | 1 |  Aris Thessaloniki F.C. | Friendly match v. Côte d'Ivoire, March 26, 2009 | | Kamel Zaiem | May 25, 1983 (1983-05-25) (age 26) | 8 | 2 |  Al-Khor | Friendly match v. Côte d'Ivoire, March 26, 2009 | | Chadi Hammami | June 14, 1986 (1986-06-14) (age 23) | 3 | 0 | CS Sfaxien | 2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Nigeria, September 6, 2009 | | Nabil Taïder | May 26, 1983 (1983-05-26) (age 26) | 8 | 2 | Skoda Xanthi F.C. | 2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Kenya, October 11, 2009 | | Tijani Belaid | September 6, 1987 (1987-09-06) (age 22) | 23 | 3 | Slavia Prague | 2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Kenya, October 11, 2009 | - Forwards
| Player | DoB/Age | Caps | Goals | Team | Most Recent Call up | | Mohamed Ali Ghariani | June 11, 1983 (1983-06-11) (age 26) | 5 | 0 | Tours FC | Unknown | | Hichem Essifi | February 27, 1987 (1987-02-27) (age 22) | 4 | 2 | US Monastir | Friendly match v. France, October 14, 2008 | | Francileudo Santos | March 20, 1979 (1979-03-20) (age 30) | 40 | 22 | free agent | Friendly match v. Ghana, November 19, 2008 | | Mohamed Selliti | March 28, 1981 (1981-03-28) (age 28) | 22 | 0 |  Ismaily SC | Friendly match v. Netherlands, February 1, 2009 | | Walid Tayeb | March 24, 1981 (1981-03-24) (age 28) | 1 | 0 | Espérance de Tunis | Friendly match v. Netherlands, February 1, 2009 | | Yassine Chikhaoui | September 22, 1986 (1986-09-22) (age 23) | 18 | 8 | FC Zürich | Friendly match v. Côte d'Ivoire, March 26, 2009 | | Ziad Jaziri | July 12, 1978 (1978-07-12) (age 31) | 64 | 14 | free agent | Friendly match v. Côte d'Ivoire, March 26, 2009 | | Lassad Nouioui | March 8, 1986 (1986-03-08) (age 23) | 16 | 3 | Deportivo de La Coruña | 2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Kenya, October 11, 2009 | [edit] Coaches [1] [edit] Former Players - Hammadi Agrebi (Midfielder)
- Habib Akid (Striker)
- Mohamed Ali Akid (Striker)
- Khaled Badra (Defender)
- Zoubeir Baya (Midfielder)
- Kamel Ben Arfa (Midfielder)
- Taoufik Ben Othman (Midfielder)
- Amor Ben Tahar (Striker)
- Khaled Ben Yahya (Defender)
- Hédi Berrekhissa (Defender)
- Riadh Bouazizi (Midfielder)
- Mounir Boukadida (Defender)
- Ali Boumnijel (Goalkeeper)
| - Tahar Chaïbi (Striker)
- Ezzedine Chakroun (Striker)
- Abdelmajid Chetali (Midfielder)
- Sirajeddine Chihi(Midfielder)
- José Clayton (Defender)
- Tarak Dhiab (Midfielder)
- Mokhtar Dhouib (Defender)
- Chokri El Ouaer (Goalkeeper)
- Boubaker Ezzitouni (Goalkeeper)
- Hassen Gabsi (Midfielder)
- Kaies Ghodhbane (Midfielder)
| - Nejib Gommidh (Midfielder)
- Mohieddine Habita (Striker)
- Ezzeddine Hadj Sassi (Striker)
- Abdelhamid Hergal (Striker)
- Lotfi Hsoumi (Midfielder)
- Riadh Jlassi (Striker)
- Mohsen Jendoubi (Defender)
- Ali Kaabi (Defender)
- Temime Lahzami (Striker)
- Jameleddine Limam (Striker)
- Nabil Maaloul (Striker)
- Mohamed Ali Mahjoubi (Midfielder)
- Taoufik Mhedhebi (Defender/Midfielder)
| | [edit] References [edit] External links | | | | | | | | | 2006 FIFA World Cup finalists | | | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Third place | | | | Fourth place | | | | Eliminated in quarter-finals | | | | Eliminated in round of 16 | | | | Eliminated in group stage | | | | | | | |
