Tunisia's Eagles of Carthage Book Their Place at the 2026 World Cup

For the seventh time in their history, Tunisia's national football team, known affectionately as the Eagles of Carthage, will take their place among the finest sides in the world at the game's greatest tournament.

The North African side booked their ticket to the 2026 World Cup in dramatic fashion, adding another chapter to a proud footballing tradition that stretches back across several decades of international competition.

A stoppage-time winner

Tunisia sealed their qualification with a narrow one to nil victory over Equatorial Guinea on the eighth of September 2025, in a tense encounter that was settled only in the dying moments of the match.

The decisive goal arrived deep into stoppage time, around the ninety fourth minute, when Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane struck to spark celebrations among players and supporters who had waited anxiously for the breakthrough.

Unbeaten at the top of the group

That win confirmed top spot in Group H of the African qualifying section, where Tunisia came through the campaign without suffering a single defeat across the whole of their qualifying programme.

The side, guided by coach Sami Trabelsi, won nine of their ten matches and drew the other, finishing clear of rivals that included Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome and Principe.

A familiar stage for the Eagles

With that result Tunisia became the second African team, and the eighteenth nation overall, to secure a place at the expanded finals, confirming their qualification well ahead of many of their continental peers.

The 2026 tournament, which will be staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico, has grown to forty eight teams, opening the door for more nations than ever before to compete on the biggest stage.

Chasing an elusive milestone

For all their regular appearances, Tunisia carry an unwanted record into the tournament, having reached the finals six times before without ever managing to advance beyond the opening group stage of the competition.

That long wait gives the current generation a clear and tantalising target, the chance to finally break new ground and carry the nation into the knockout rounds for the very first time in its history.

Among Africa's regulars

Tunisia's consistency is underlined by the fact that only Cameroon and Morocco have made more appearances at the World Cup among African nations, a mark of the country's enduring standing in the continental game.

Reaching a seventh finals places the Eagles firmly among the most familiar African faces at the tournament, a reputation built patiently over many campaigns of qualifying football through the years.

Eyes on 2026

Attention now turns to preparation, as the coaching staff look to shape a squad capable of competing with the world's strongest teams and of writing the kind of history that has so far eluded the nation.

For Tunisian supporters, however, the immediate feeling is one of pride and anticipation, as their team once again earns the right to represent the country on the sport's grandest and most watched stage.