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Tunisia’s 2026 World Cup squad features experience and rising talent. Here are the players most likely to shape the Eagles of Carthage’s run.
Tunisia entered the 2026 World Cup determined to prove it belongs among Africa’s top football nations, relying on a blend of veteran leadership, defensive organization and attacking playmakers capable of changing matches.
From established international stars to emerging contributors seeking a breakthrough on the global stage, these are the players most likely to determine how far the Eagles of Carthage can advance this summer.
Coach Sabri Lamouchi guided Tunisia through a historically dominant qualifying campaign — 10 matches, 10 clean sheets and a plus-22 goal differential — to reach the tournament, according to FIFA.com. The Eagles of Carthage won nine of their 10 Group H qualifying matches and finished 13 points clear of the next two sides, according to Fox Sports. Tunisia enters Group F alongside the Netherlands and Japan, a group that offers no soft entry points.
Hannibal Mejbri: Tunisia’s Creative Engine
GettyHannibal Mejbri #10 of Tunisia.
Mejbri, born in 2003, is the name Lamouchi writes in first on any team sheet. The No. 10 carries Tunisia’s creative identity: technically gifted, relentless in both directions and capable of shifting a match’s momentum without warning.
He developed at Manchester United’s academy before carving out a Premier League role at Burnley, where his dribbling, passing range and two-way work rate turned him into a genuine top-flight contributor, according to The Guardian. He committed to Tunisia rather than wait for a France call-up, a decision that made him the Eagles of Carthage’s most important player before he turned 22.
At 23, Mejbri’s ability to control tempo from central midfield while threatening on the ball in transition makes him Tunisia’s most irreplaceable asset and the player opponents will game-plan around most aggressively in Group F.
Ellyes Skhiri: Midfield Anchor Steering Tunisia
GettyTunisia’s midfielder #17 Ellyes Skhiri.
If Mejbri is the spark, Skhiri is what keeps the structure from collapsing. The 32-year-old captain has accumulated 74 international caps across stints in Ligue 1 with Montpellier and in the Bundesliga with Köln and Eintracht Frankfurt, with Champions League experience as well, according to Fox Sports.
His game is built around interceptions, positional discipline and the ability to cut off opposition buildup before it reaches dangerous areas. He connects cleanly in transition, moving the ball forward efficiently and giving the creative players around him freedom to operate.
Skhiri’s leadership gives Tunisia’s midfield a balance that the qualifying run made famous. Behind Mejbri, he provides the defensive backbone that helped the Eagles of Carthage record 10 consecutive clean sheets and the steadiness a run against heavyweights in Group F will demand.
Elias Achouri: Dynamic Force in Attack
GettyTunisia’s #07 Elias Achouri.
Achouri brings something Mejbri and Skhiri don’t: pace and directness from wide areas that can destabilize a settled defensive block. He has sharpened his game in the Danish Superliga and Champions League at FC Copenhagen, building a profile as a player ready for the global stage, according to Olympics.com.
Alongside Mejbri, Achouri presses high and threatens on transitions, stretching opposition lines wide enough to create interior space for Tunisia’s central players. His work rate is central to the team’s compact style.
Together, Mejbri, Skhiri and Achouri form the spine of a squad that gave up nothing in getting here. Whether that defensive DNA survives contact with the Netherlands and Japan and leaves room for the attacking ambition these three bring will define Tunisia’s 2026 World Cup.
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist who covers MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, boxing, golf, and Olympic sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Newspaper and Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering the Olympics, pro baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin
