PSG's Ayari and Burnley’s Mejbri headline Tunisia's squad for World Cup

Mejbri in action
Mejbri in actionThor Wegner / DeFodi Images / Profimedia

Tunisia announced their final 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday evening.

The Carthage Eagles will be making their seventh appearance at the global football showpiece and will be hoping to progress beyond the group stage for the first time in their history.

Frankfurt midfielder Ellyes Skhiri headlines head coach Sabri Lamouchi’s squad and has been named captain of the North African side.

Burnley star Hannibal Mejbri is another notable inclusion, with the midfielder set for his second consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance. Paris Saint-Germain youngster Khalil Ayari also earned a place in the squad.

The biggest surprise, however, is the omission of Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane. The midfielder finished as Tunisia’s top scorer during the qualification campaign and famously netted the dramatic 94th-minute winner against Equatorial Guinea.

Tunisia secured qualification from a group featuring Namibia, Liberia, Malawi, Equatorial Guinea, and Sao Tome and Principe, finishing top with an impressive 28 points from 10 matches to earn automatic qualification.

At the tournament, the 2004 African champions have been drawn in Group F alongside the Netherlands, Japan, and Sweden.

They will begin their campaign against Sweden on June 14 at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe. Six days later, they face Japan before concluding the group stage against the Netherlands on June 25 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Full squad

Goalkeepers: Aymen Dahmen (CS Sfaxien), Sabri Ben Hassine (Etoile du Sahel), Abdelmouhib Chamakh  (Club Africain)

Defenders: Montassar Talbi (Lorient), Dylan Bronn (Servette), Omar Rekik (Maribor), Yan Valery (Young Boys), Ali Abdi (Nice), Moutaz Neffati (IFK Norrköping), Raed Chikhaoui (Monastir), Adem Arous (Kasimpasa), Mohamed Ben Hamida (Esperance Tunis)

Midfielders: Ellyes Skhiri (Eintracht Frankfurt), Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley), Anis Ben Slimane (Norwich City), Rani Khedira (Union Berlin), Mohamed Hadj-Mahmoud (FC Lugano), Mortadha Ben Ouanes (Kasımpasa)

Strikers: Elyes Achouri (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ismael Gharbi (FC Augsburg), Elias Saad (Hannover 96), Sebastian Tounekti (Celtic), Firas Chaouat (Club Africain), Khalil Ayari (Paris Saint-Germain), Hazem Mastouri (Dynamo Makhachkala), Rayan Elloumi (Vancouver Whitecaps)

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