Tunisia

Tunisia's Eagles of Carthage made history in 1978 as the first African nation to win a FIFA World Cup match, and their 2004 Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil remains the crowning achievement of Tunisian football. Consistent qualifiers for both the World Cup and AFCON, they arrive at 2026 having navigated qualifying without conceding a single goal.

Tunisia's modern football identity dates to independence in 1957, when the Tunisian Football Federation was established and the Eagles played their first official international. The country had already competed under a separate pre-independence identity, but it was as a sovereign nation that Tunisian football found its ambition. At the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, Tunisia became the first African side to win a game at the tournament, defeating Mexico 3–1 — a moment that resonated across the continent.

Despite that landmark, sustained success proved elusive for two decades. A resurgence came in the 1990s under various coaches, and the appointment of Roger Lemerre — fresh from winning Euro 2000 with France — coincided with the country hosting the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations. Tunisia seized the occasion, beating Morocco in the final to claim their only AFCON title and announce themselves as a genuine continental force. That era also featured a run of seven consecutive World Cup appearances spanning 1978 to 2006.

More recently, Tunisia have been defined by remarkable consistency: a record seventeen consecutive AFCON qualifications through to the 2025 tournament, and a spotless 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in which they did not concede a single goal — the first team in history to achieve that feat. With Ellyes Skhiri captaining a disciplined, experienced squad, the Eagles head to 2026 as one of Africa's most organised and tactically astute sides.