Tunisia Name Final 2026 World Cup With Hannibal Despite Explosive AFCON 2025 Rant

Tunisia have unveiled their final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with star midfielder Hannibal Mejbri earning a place despite his  criticism of Tunisian football following the Carthage Eagles’ painful AFCON Round of 16 elimination to Mali earlier this year. Determined to bounce back from continental disappointment, the North Africans now head to the global stage hoping to finally break their World Cup knockout barrier.

Coach Sabri Lamouchi announced his final squad for the 2026 World Cup tournament, with experienced leaders and exciting young talents expected to carry the nation’s hopes on football’s biggest stage.

The 2026 edition will mark Tunisia’s seventh FIFA World Cup appearance and their third consecutive participation after Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.

Historically, Tunisia became the first African nation to win a World Cup match when they defeated Mexico 3-1 in Argentina in 1978. Despite their regular appearances, the Carthage Eagles are still chasing a historic qualification beyond the group stage. In Qatar 2022, they famously defeated France 1-0 but still failed to advance.

However, Tunisia arrive at the tournament under significant pressure after their disappointing AFCON 2025 campaign in Morocco. They suffered a round of 16 defeat on penalties against Mali after a 1-1 draw. What made the defeat even more painful was the fact that Tunisia played most of the game against 10 men but still failed to capitalize before losing 3-2 on penalties.

The aftermath of that defeat triggered strong reactions within Tunisian football, none louder than those from star midfielder Hannibal Mejbri. The fiery midfielder openly criticized the state of football in the country after the elimination.

“I am disgusted for the Tunisian people,” Hannibal said after the match. He also added: “We dream too much and we do not work enough.”

In one of his strongest statements, Hannibal declared that “Tunisia are 10 years behind in football,” while calling for deep reforms across the country’s football structure.

Despite the controversy surrounding those remarks, Hannibal has retained his place in the squad and remains one of Tunisia’s most important players heading into the World Cup. His creativity, intensity and leadership are expected to play a major role as Tunisia attempt to bounce back from AFCON heartbreak.

The stakes could hardly be bigger. With the expanded 48-team format offering African nations more opportunities to progress, Tunisia will believe this could finally be the tournament where they break past the group stage barrier. Following the disappointment against Mali, fans will expect not only improvement, but a genuine response from a squad desperate to make amends on the world stage.

Tunisia Final Squad – 2026 FIFA World Cup

Goalkeepers

Abdelmouhib Chamakh

Aymen Dahmen

Sabri Ben-Hessen

Defenders

Yan Valery

Moutaz Neffati

Montassar Talbi

Adem Arous

Omar Rekik

Dylan Bronn

Ali Abdi

Mortadha Ben Ouanes

Raed Chikhaoui

Mohamed Ben Hmida

Midfielders

Ellyes Skhiri

Rani Khedira

Haj-Mahmoud

Ismaïl Gharbi

Hannibal Mejbri

Anis Ben Slimane

Forwards

Sebastian Tounekti

Elias Saad

Elias Achouri

Khalil Ayari

Rayan Elloumi

Hazem Mastouri

Firas Chaouat