FIFA World Cup 2022 African Team Profiles – Tunisia

Tunisia are back for their sixth World Cup tournament, and only Cameroon (8) have been to more finals. Yet, The Eagles of Carthage also carry the ignominy of being the African team that has been to the most World Cups without going past the Group stage. In fact, worldwide, only Scotland (8 times) have been to more finals without going past the first stage. They’ll be hoping to change that this time around.

Group D

In the last World Cup, Tunisia were unfortunate, to be put in a Group with eventual semi-finalists Belgium and England. This time around, they are drawn against the defending champions France, with Denmark and Australia completing their group. France are third favourites to win the whole tournament, so it’s little surprise that they are the favourites to win Group D.

The odds for France as outright winners are 8.00 at Bet.co.za, also the 3rd best. Interestingly, FiveThirtyEight gives Tunisia a 10% chance of winning the Group, which is twice as much as Opta’s model (5%). Maybe the race for 2nd isn’t as clear-cut.

Squad Profile

The Tunisian squad is very experienced, not just in age, but also in international experience. Altogether, the squad boasts almost 1,000 international caps, with one-third of the squad also involved in the 2018 World Cup. However, more than one-third of their squad is also locally based, and that may count against them on the biggest stage. Indeed, no African team has more home-based players than Tunisia (10)

How Can They Progress?

Oddly, Group C in 2018 also featured France, Australia & Denmark, with Peru the 4th team then. They ended up in third place after losing narrowly to both France & Denmark (both 1-0), and the 2-0 win over Australia proved to be nothing but a consolation. Beating Australia will be the primary aim for all the teams, but they’ll need a positive result against either France or Denmark to stand a chance.

Key Game: Denmark

The key game for Tunisia should be the opening game against Denmark. They are the side that looks to be in direct competition with them for 2nd place. A win here would give them the confidence and momentum for the “easier” game against Australia, and put pressure on Denmark as they’d need a result in their second game against France.

Key Player

Montpellier’s Wahbi Khazri is one of the most experienced players in the Tunisian side and has scored in every major tournament since the 2018 World Cup. His goals (particularly from set pieces) could prove crucial in what may end up as a low-scoring group.