Tunisia at the FIFA Arab Cup

Tunisia has participated three times in the FIFA Arab Cup, the biggest men's football event in the Arab world. The first participation was during the inaugural edition in 1963, held in Lebanon. The tournament featured a league format with five teams. Tunisia won the title after winning all four of its matches against Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, and Lebanon. Mongi Haddad finished the tournament as the top scorer. After that, Tunisia participated in 1988 and did not win a single match and failed in the group stage after three draws and a loss. In 2021, the Tunisia participated in the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, the first edition under the auspices of FIFA with the participation of sixteen teams in the final tournament. The team reached the final after defeating Mauritania, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt, but lost to Algeria and won the silver medal. Seifeddine Jaziri finished the tournament as the top scorer.

Overall record

FIFA Arab Cup record FIFA Arab Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA Ref.
Lebanon 1963 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 11 1 Squad Qualified automatically [1]
Kuwait 1964 Did not enter Did not enter
Iraq 1966
Saudi Arabia 1985
Jordan 1988 Group stage 7th 4 0 3 1 3 4 Squad 2 1 1 0 2 1 [2]
Syria 1992 Did not enter Did not enter
Qatar 1998
Kuwait 2002
Saudi Arabia 2012
Qatar 2021 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 0 2 9 6 Squad Qualified automatically [3]
Qatar 2025 Qualified Qualified automatically
Total Champions 3/10 14 8 3 3 23 11 — 2 1 1 0 2 1 —

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

Part Year No.  Stage Date Opponent Result Tunisia scorers Ref
1 Lebanon 1963 1 Final tournament 2 April 1963  Syria 1–0 Ben Amor 20' [4]
2 Final tournament 4 April 1963  Jordan 4–0 Haddad 1', 6' Jedidi 26' Henia 34' [5]
3 Final tournament 6 April 1963  Kuwait 5–1 Habacha 9' Jedidi 21', 54' Henia 73' Haddad 78' [6]
4 Final tournament 7 April 1963  Lebanon 1–0 Haddad 10' [7]
2 Jordan 1988 5 Group stage 9 July 1988  Iraq 1–1 Mahjoubi 62' [8]
6 Group stage 11 July 1988  Saudi Arabia Ol. 1–1 Maaloul 90' (pen.) [9]
7 Group stage 13 July 1988  Egypt 0–1 — [10]
8 Group stage 17 July 1988  Lebanon 1–1 Mehedhebi 46' [11]
3 Qatar 2021 9 Group stage 30 November 2021  Mauritania 5–1 Jaziri 39', 45+2' Ben Larbi 42', 51' Msakni 90+1' [12]
10 Group stage 3 December 2021  Syria 0–2 — [13]
11 Group stage 6 December 2021  United Arab Emirates 1–0 Jaziri 10' [14]
12 Quarter-finals 10 December 2021  Oman 2–1 Jaziri 16' Msakni 69' [15]
13 Semi-finals 15 December 2021  Egypt 1–0 El Solia 90+5' (o.g.) [16]
14 Final 18 December 2021  Algeria 0–2 (a.e.t.) — [17]

Tournaments

1963 Arab Cup

Main article: 1963 Arab Cup

In early 1963, the Tunisian Football Federation appointed French coach André Gérard to lead the team in the inaugural edition of the Arab Cup, held in Beirut, Lebanon. The team won the title by winning all of its matches, defeating Syria 1–0, Jordan 4–0, Kuwait 5–1, and Lebanon 1–0.[18] Tunisia won its first title since independence, and Mongi Haddad finished the tournament as the top scorer with four goals.

Final tournament

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Tunisia 4 4 0 0 11 1 +10 8 Champions
2  Syria 4 3 0 1 11 3 +8 6
3  Lebanon 4 2 0 2 13 4 +9 4
4  Kuwait 4 1 0 3 5 15 −10 2
5  Jordan 4 0 0 4 0 17 −17 0
Source: Rsssf
Tunisia 1–0 Syria
Ben Amor 20'
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Muvahhit Afir (Turkey)
Tunisia 4–0 Jordan
Haddad 1', 6'
Jedidi 26'
Henia 34'
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Atef Sinane (Lebanon)
Tunisia 5–1 Kuwait
Habacha 9'
Jedidi 21', 54'
Henia 73'
Haddad 78'		 Ad-Doula 85'
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Khatchadour Boyadjian (Lebanon)
Lebanon 0–1 Tunisia
Haddad 10'
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Muvahhit Afir (Turkey)

1988 Arab Cup

Main article: 1988 Arab Cup

Group stage

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Egypt 4 2 2 0 4 0 +4 6
 Iraq 4 1 3 0 3 1 +2 5
 Lebanon 4 1 2 1 2 4 −2 4
 Tunisia 4 0 3 1 3 4 −1 3
 Saudi Arabia Ol. 4 0 2 2 1 4 −3 2


Iraq 1–1 Tunisia
Radhi 32' Mahjoubi 62'
Attendance: 17,000
Referee: Issa Al-Jassas (Kuwait)
Saudi Arabia Ol. 1–1 Tunisia
Farhan 80' Maaloul 90' (pen.)
Attendance: 8,000
Egypt 1–0 Tunisia
Soliman 62'
Attendance: 18,000
Lebanon 1–1 Tunisia
Hammoud 65' Mehedhebi 46'
Attendance: 25,000

2021 FIFA Arab Cup

Main article: 2021 FIFA Arab Cup

After a nine-year hiatus, the FIFA hosted the Arab Cup in Qatar. Tunisia qualified directly for the finals without entering the qualifying phase, benefiting from the first Arab ranking in the FIFA world rankings, making it the country's seventh appearance in a FIFA-organized tournament. They opened the tournament with a 5–1 victory over Mauritania; Seifeddine Jaziri and Firas Ben Larbi scored twice, while Youssef Msakni scored the fifth goal thanks to an assist from Yassine Chikhaoui.[19] However, Tunisia suffered a 0–2 defeat to Syria,[20] but qualified for the quarterfinals by beating the United Arab Emirates 1–0 with a goal from Jaziri.[21] In the quarterfinals, the team defeated Oman 2–1 thanks to goals from Jaziri and Msakni.[22] In the semifinals, Tunisia clashed with rivals Egypt, but managed to score a goal in the 95th minute after a free kick from Naïm Sliti, which was deflected into the net by Egypt's Amr El Solia, and secured qualification by ending the match with a 1–0 score.[23] This victory allowed Tunisia to reach its first FIFA final in the country's history.[24] In the final match, the team faced Algeria, which they defeated 0–2 in extra time.[25][26] Jaziri finished as the tournament's top scorer with four goals and won the FIFA Golden Boot award.[27] Despite losing the title, the team's performance restored confidence among the fans,[28] who attended the tournament in the tens of thousands, especially after the defeat against Syria and in the playoffs. In this context, they were congratulated by FIFA and named the best fans of the tournament.[29]

Group stage

Main article: 2021 FIFA Arab Cup Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Tunisia 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  United Arab Emirates 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6
3  Syria 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 3
4  Mauritania 3 1 0 2 3 7 −4 3
Source: FIFA
Tunisia 5–1 Mauritania
 Report
Attendance: 2,494
Syria 2–0 Tunisia
 Report
Attendance: 15,913
Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez (Mexico)
Tunisia 1–0 United Arab Emirates
 Report
Attendance: 14,272

Quarter-finals

Tunisia 2–1 Oman
 Report
Attendance: 21,329

Semi-finals

Tunisia 1–0 Egypt
 Report
Attendance: 36,427

Final

Main article: 2021 FIFA Arab Cup final
Tunisia 0–2 (a.e.t.) Algeria
Report
Attendance: 60,456
Tunisia[30]
Algeria[30]
GK 22 Mouez Hassen
RB 20 Mohamed Dräger
CB 2 Bilel Ifa
CB 3 Montassar Talbi
LB 14 Amine Ben Hamida Yellow card 43' downward-facing red arrow 101'
CM 6 Ghaylen Chaaleli
CM 13 Ferjani Sassi Yellow card 64' downward-facing red arrow 101'
RW 7 Youssef Msakni (c) Yellow card 39'
AM 10 Hannibal Mejbri downward-facing red arrow 88'
LW 23 Naïm Sliti downward-facing red arrow 110'
CF 11 Seifeddine Jaziri Yellow card 40'
Substitutions:
MF 15 Ali Ben Romdhane upward-facing green arrow 88'
DF 12 Ali Maâloul upward-facing green arrow 101'
MF 18 Saad Bguir upward-facing green arrow 101'
MF 9 Firas Ben Larbi upward-facing green arrow 110'
Manager:
Mondher Kebaier
GK 23 Raïs M'Bolhi (c)
RB 3 Houcine Benayada downward-facing red arrow 120+3'
CB 4 Djamel Benlamri
CB 19 Abdelkader Bedrane
LB 20 Ilyes Chetti Yellow card 13'
CM 18 Houssem Eddine Mrezigue downward-facing red arrow 91'
CM 14 Sofiane Bendebka Yellow card 90+3' downward-facing red arrow 118'
RW 7 Tayeb Meziani downward-facing red arrow 66'
AM 11 Yacine Brahimi Yellow card 120+4'
LW 10 Youcef Belaïli
CF 9 Baghdad Bounedjah Yellow card 40'
Substitutions:
MF 8 Amir Sayoud upward-facing green arrow 66'
MF 17 Zakaria Draoui upward-facing green arrow 91'
DF 5 Mehdi Tahrat upward-facing green arrow 118'
DF 12 Mohamed Amine Tougai upward-facing green arrow 120+3'
Manager:
Madjid Bougherra

Man of the Match:
Amir Sayoud (Algeria)

Assistant referees:
Rafael Foltyn (Germany)
Christian Gittelmann (Germany)
Fourth official:
Matthew Conger (New Zealand)
Reserve assistant referee:
Tevita Makasini (Tonga)
Video assistant referee:
Christian Dingert (Germany)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Kevin Blom (Netherlands)
Jun Mihara (Japan)
Shaun Evans (Australia)

Match rules[31]

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Maximum of twelve named substitutes
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time

2025 FIFA Arab Cup

Main article: 2025 FIFA Arab Cup

Group stage

Main article: 2025 FIFA Arab Cup Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Qatar (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  Tunisia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Syria or South Sudan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Palestine or Libya 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source:
(H) Hosts

Statistics

Head to head

  •   – Positive balance
  •   – Neutral balance
  •   – Negative balance

Goalscorers

Rank Player 1963 1988 2021 2025 Goals
1 Seifeddine Jaziri 4 TBD 4
Mongi Haddad 4 4
2 Mohamed Salah Jedidi 3 3
3 Firas Ben Larbi 2 TBD 2
Youssef Msakni 2 TBD 2
Hammadi Henia 2 2
4 Raouf Ben Amor (footballer) 1 1
Mohsen Habacha 1 1
Mohamed Ali Mahjoubi 1 1
Nabil Maâloul 1 1
Taoufik Mehedhebi 1 1
Egypt Amr El Solia (o.g.) 1 TBD 1
Total 11 3 9 23

  – Best goalscorer(s) of the tournament
  – Best goalscorer(s) of the team

Awards

Top scorer
Team of the Tournament
Man of the match

See also

References

  1. ^ "Arab Cup 1963 Details". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Arab Cup 1988". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  3. ^ "FIFA Arab Cup 2021™". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Tunisia vs Syria: live 2 april 1963. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  5. ^ "Jordan vs Tunisia: live 4 april 1963. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  6. ^ "Tunisia vs Kuwait: live 6 april 1963. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  7. ^ "Lebanon vs Tunisia: live 7 april 1963. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  8. ^ "Iraq vs Tunisia: live 9 july 1988. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  9. ^ "Saudi Arabia U23 vs Tunisia: live 11 july 1988. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  10. ^ "Egypt vs Tunisia: live 13 july 1988. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  11. ^ "Lebanon vs Tunisia: live 17 july 1988. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  12. ^ "Tunisia vs Mauritania: live 30 november 2021. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  13. ^ "Syria vs Tunisia: live 3 december 2021. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  14. ^ "Tunisia vs United Arab Emirates: live 6 december 2021. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  15. ^ "Tunisia vs Oman: live 10 december 2021. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  16. ^ "Tunisia vs Egypt: live 15 december 2021. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  17. ^ "Tunisia vs Algeria: live 18 december 2021. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  18. ^ "FIFA Arab Cup 1963, football - table and standings, match results, schedule, stats, videos, news". soccer365.net. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  19. ^ "Tunisia vs. Mauritania – 30 November 2021 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  20. ^ "Syria vs. Tunisia – 3 December 2021 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  21. ^ "Tunisia vs. UAE – 6 December 2021 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  22. ^ "Tunisia vs. Oman – 10 December 2021 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  23. ^ "Tunisia vs. Egypt – 15 December 2021 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  24. ^ "Coupe Arabe: la Tunisie arrache la finale avec une énorme réussite en fin de match". RMC SPORT (in French). Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  25. ^ "Tunisia vs. Algeria – 18 December 2021 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  26. ^ "Algeria beat Tunisia to win FIFA Arab Cup 2021". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  27. ^ "Coupe arabe : Seifeddine Jaziri, Soulier d'or". Mosaique FM (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  28. ^ "Coupe Arabe: les supporters tunisiens arrivent en force au stade 974". RadioMosaiqueFM. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  29. ^ "Coupe Arabe des Nations 2021 : Les supporters tunisiens, les meilleurs de la compétition". Africa Top Sports (in French). 15 December 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  30. ^ a b "Tunisia vs Algeria Lineups". sofascore.com. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  31. ^ "FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 Regulations" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Golden reward for Brahimi, Mbohli and Jaziri". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  33. ^ "تعرف على التشكيلة المثالية لبطولة كأس العرب 2021". mala3eb.com (in Arabic). 19 December 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
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