Zimbabwe 2-4 Tunisia Credit: © Aminah Babirye
How they qualified: Tunisia qualified by just a single point better than second placed DR Congo in group A.
The Carthage Eagles qualified without a loss from the group, won 4 and the drew the rest, managed 14 points, scored 11 and conceded 4 in six games.
In their last group game against Libya they drew goalless to seal the place as DR Congo win over Guinea didn’t matter.
Key Player: None other than centre defender Aymen Abdennour. The former Monaco player is rated among the best defenders on the continent and rarely put a foot wrong in the campaign.
Fantastic in the air and good on the ground, he has been a key figure for the North African side.
Pedigree: Tunisia have never played beyond the group stages in all four appearances at the World Cup – 1978, 1998, 2002 and 2006.
This will be their fifth finals and hope to make it one step better by reaching the last 16.
Coach: Nabil Maaloul returned to handle the side in April this year and hasn’t disappointed.
Maaloul first managed the side in 2013 but resigned after failing to guide them to the Brazil 2014 World Cup finals.
Previously, he was assistant to French man Roger Lemerre in 2004 when Tunisia lifted the Africa Nations Cup on home soil.
He also managed El Jaish SC in Qatar, the Kuwait national team and ES Tunis.
