Group F fixtures
Mon 15 Jun03:00 BST
Estadio BBVA, Monterrey
Sat 20 Jun05:00 BST
Estadio BBVA, Monterrey
Fri 26 Jun00:00 BST
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Key players to watch
Ellyes Skhiri
MF · Eintracht Frankfurt · C
Captain and the centerpiece of the side; ball recovery, tactical intelligence and a powerful long-range shot make him the engine.
Captain · midfield engine
Hannibal Mejbri
MF · Burnley
The spark — relentless pressing, energy and quick transitions; the most familiar Tunisian name to English audiences.
Pressing dynamo
Montassar Talbi
CB · Lorient
Organises the defensive block that conceded nothing in qualifying; covers ground and reads danger.
Defensive organiser
Aymen Dahmen
GK · CS Sfaxien
Consistent, in-form goalkeeper central to Tunisia's clean-sheet record; expect big saves.
Reliable keeper
Youssef Msakni
FW
Veteran talisman and one of the most-capped players; creativity, delivery and dead-ball quality from the front.
Veteran creator
Ali Abdi
LB · Nice
Attacking full-back who provides width and crossing down the left in Lamouchi's system.
Wide outlet
Goals & output
The clear weakness: Tunisia create little, leaning on Msakni's craft, Hazem Mastouri up top and set pieces. They scored freely against weaker qualifying opposition but will find goals far harder here.
Set-piece duties
Free kicks
Skhiri / Msakni
Dead-ball duties lean on the veteran Msakni and captain Skhiri, whose long-range shooting is a weapon. With a compact, defensive side, set pieces are a meaningful share of Tunisia's limited goal threat — though note top qualifying scorer Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane was a surprise omission.
Discipline read
▲A disciplined, well-organised defensive unit — fouls come from protecting the block rather than recklessness. Their whole game is built on not conceding.
Recent form
A remarkable qualifying story: Tunisia topped their CAF group with 22 goals scored and zero conceded across ten games — the first team in World Cup qualifying history to reach the finals without conceding a single goal. Sabri Lamouchi took over in January 2026. A seventh World Cup, and a third in a row, but they have never escaped the group.
Head-to-head history
v Sweden (15 Jun)
Negligible history
Little prior record; a cagey opener in Monterrey likely to suit Tunisia's defensive approach.
v Japan (20 Jun)
Won 3-0 in 2022
Tunisia thrashed Japan 3-0 in a 2022 friendly — evidence they can punish a bigger name on their day, in Monterrey.
v Netherlands (26 Jun)
Negligible history
Little prior record; a final-day test against the group favourites in Kansas City.
Underdog & betting read
The verdict
Brutally hard to beat, which gives them an outside shot at a best-third-place spot through low-scoring draws. The problem is the other end: if they can't score, they can't progress. Unders and Tunisia clean-sheet markets fit the profile better than backing them to win.