In 1978, Tunisia had the honour of being the first African country ever to win a game at the finals of the World Cup, when they defeated Mexico 3-1 in their very first group match. A 1-0 loss to Poland in the next match, and a goalless draw against defending champions Germany weren’t enough to see the North Africans progress to the knockout stages, but the victory over Mexico secured the ‘Carthage Eagles’ a place in World Cup history.

Since then, Tunisia have qualified for two further World Cup Finals, but they are still waiting for their second finals win.

In the 1998 finals in France, Tunisia lost to England and Colombia and drew with Romania, and although Tunisia qualified for the finals in Japan/Korea four years later, they mimicked their previous exploits by losing to Russia and Japan, and holding Belgium to a draw.

As one of the five African countries who played at Korea/Japan 2002, Tunisia did not have to play in the preliminary African qualifying rounds for the 2006 finals. And under the management of former French national coach Roger Lemerre, they more than lived up to their billing of favourites to reach Germany 2006.

They entered the qualifying competition high on confidence having won the CAF African Cup of Nations on home soil in February 2004. In the final, Roger Lemerre’s men beat their neighbours Morocco 2-1 to lift the trophy.

As fate would have it they encountered old foes Morocco again in their qualifying group, and once more the Carthage Eagles held their own, with both matches between the North African rivals finishing in draws, 1-1 away in Rabat, and then 2-2 at home in Tunis.

Defeated just once in their qualifiers, losing 2-1 to Guinea, Lemerre’s team qualified with a record of six wins and three draws.

With top-class performers such as Ziad Jaziri, Francileudo dos Santos, Adel Chadli and their captain Hatem Trabelsi within their ranks, the Carthage Eagles have high expectations, all the more so as young striker Haykel Guemamdia is gradually establishing himself among the finest strikers in Africa.

Having been drawn in Group H along with Spain, the Ukraine and Sudi Arabia, it may be a tough call for Tunisia to add to their one win so far at a FIFA World Cup, but the ambitious Tunisians will want to give those three teams a proper run for their money, and who knows, could see the North African’s reaching the last sixteen.

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Tunisia Match Fixtures in the World Cup 2006 Finals

14-June-2006	Tunisia v Saudi Arabia	18:00 BST
19-June-2006	Spain v Tunisia	21:00 BST
23-June-2006	Ukraine v Tunisia	16:00 BST

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Historic Facts

First International appearance: Tunisia 2 - 1 Algeria (Tunisia; 25 June 1957)

Largest win: Tunisia 7 - 0 Togo (Tunis, Tunisia; 7 January 2000)
Largest win: Tunisia 7 - 0 Malawi (Tunis, Tunisia; 26 March 2005)

Worst defeat: Hungary 10 - 1 Tunisia (Hungary; 24 July 1960)

World Cup Finals Appearances: 1978, 1998, 2002

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Tunisia Match Results - African World Cup Qualifiers, Group 5

Date	Match	Result
08-Oct-2005	Tunisia - Morocco	2:2 (1:2)
03-Sep-2005	Kenya - Tunisia	0:2 (0:1)
17-Aug-2005	Tunisia - Kenya	1:0 (1:0)
11-Jun-2005	Tunisia - Guinea	2:0 (1:0)
04-Jun-2005	Botswana - Tunisia	1:3 (1:2)
26-Mar-2005	Tunisia - Malawi	7:0 (2:0)
09-Oct-2004	Malawi - Tunisia	2:2 (2:0)
04-Sep-2004	Morocco - Tunisia	1:1 (0:1)
20-Jun-2004	Guinea - Tunisia	2:1 (1:0)
05-Jun-2004	Tunisia - Botswana	4:1 (2:0)

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