Tunisia World Cup 2018

Tunisia return to the finals of a World Cup, for the first time since 2006, with the odds stacked against them in their quest to make it past the group stage for the first time in their history.

History at the World Cup

Tunisia gained independence from France in 1956, and qualified for their first World Cup finals as an independent nation in 1978. That was the first of four appearances at finals tournaments, although they have never made it past the group stage. Between 1998 and 2006, they qualified for three consecutive finals but exited each one without winning a single match. They have failed to qualify for the past two finals tournaments, losing in a play-off against Cameroon in qualifying for Brazil 2014.

• World Cup Finals Appearances – 4
• Previous Best Performance – Group Stage (4 times)

How they qualified

Tunisia received a bye through to the second round of CAF qualifying, as the fourth highest ranked African nation.

They beat Mauritania 4-2 on aggregate, 2-1 in each leg, to advance to the group stage, and then beat off a stiff challenge from DR Congo to finish top of Group A and book their place in Russia.

Having won four and drawing one of their first five group matches, they went in to the final match of qualifying with a three-point advantage over DR Congo and a fixture against a Libya side they had already beaten.

Just a point was needed, and that’s exactly what they achieved as a spirited Libya held them to a goalless draw.

Coach/Manager

Nabil Maaloul, who represented his country 74 times as a player, became Tunisia head coach for a second spell in April 2017.

His first spell lasted just seven games, in 2013, and ended with his resignation after failure to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. That failure to qualify was actually overturned, when Cape Verde were found to have fielded an ineligible player but Maaloul had already left his position.

He returned as head coach for a second spell and succeeded in completing the task he had signed up for the first time around, leading his country to a World Cup finals tournament.

Star Players

• The Tunisian squad do not really have any stand-out stars, with most of their players plying their trade in the Tunisian league.
• There are a handful of players who are signed with clubs in France, as well as a couple in Germany, Belgium, and Turkey.
• The only player based in England who has received a recent call-up is Issam Ben Khemis, of League One side Doncaster Rovers.

Tunisia World Cup 2018: Assessing Their Chances & Odds

Tunisia have been drawn in a tough group alongside Belgium and England, and debutants Panama.

Whilst they are higher ranked than Panama, and will be betting favourites to win the match against them, they are quite a way behind England and Belgium in terms of quality and top-level experience.

The fact Tunisia are 7/2 to make it through to the second round, but 1/5 to exit at the group stage, shows how little chance the bookmakers give them.

We must agree with the betting odds in this case, as we believe it would require a massive shock for England and Belgium to not be the two teams advancing from this group.

They haven’t met England since a 2-0 defeat in 1998, They beat Belgium back in 1992 but drew with them in 2002 and lost in a 2014 friendly, and they have never played Panama before.

Our Tunisia World Cup Prediction

I think we believe the same as many football fans, pundits, and the media, and that is that England and Belgium will advance to the knock-out stages from this group. So, that means our prediction is that Tunisia will exit at the group stage after suffering at least two defeats.