Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE starting June 12 2026

Tunisia place faith in home-based players

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia coach Henryk Kasperczak has chosen a 23-man squad for the African Nations Cup finals in Gabon that features mostly home-based players - a rarity for the tournament.

A total of 14 players come from top Tunisian clubs in contrast to most of the other squads at the tournament, which are dominated by players based at clubs in Europe.

But Tunisia will have Valencia defender Aymen Abdennour, Sunderland winger Wahbi Khazri and centre back Syam Ben Youssef from Caen in France's Ligue 1 as their marquee players as they seek a second African title after their only previous success 13 years ago.

Tunisia have been drawn in Group B and play their opening game against Senegal in Franceville on Jan. 15

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Moez Ben Cherifia (Esperance), Rami Jeridi (CS Sfaxien), Aymen Mathlouthi (Etoile Sahel)

Defenders: Aymen Abdennour (Valencia), Syam Ben Youssef (Caen), Zied Boughattas (Etoile Sahel), Chamseddine Dhaouadi (Esperance), Slimene Kchok (CA Bizerte), Ali Maaloul (Al Ahly), Hamza Mathlouthi (CS Sfaxien), Hamdi Nagguez (Etoile Sahel), Mohamed Ali Yaakoubi (Caykur Rizespor)

Midfielders: Larry Azouni (Nimes), Mohamed Amine Ben Amor (Etoile Sahel), Ahmed Khalil (Club Africain), Wahbi Khazri (Sunderland), Hamza Lahmar (Etoile Sahel), Youssef Msakni (Al Lekhwiya), Ferjani Sassi (Esperance), Naim Sliti (Lille)

Forwards: Ahmed Akaichi (Al Ittihad Jeddah), Saber Khalifa (Club Africain), Taha Yassine Khenissi (Esperance).

(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Mark Trevelyan; mark.gleeson@thomsonreuters.com; +27828257807; Reuters Messaging: Reuters Messaging: mark.gleeson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)


2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world