Chaabani Reshapes Tunisia Squad for AFCON Qualifiers
Moine Chaabani has wasted no time stamping his authority on Tunisia. For the opening two qualifiers of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, the Eagles of Carthage will look very different from the side that went to the 2026 World Cup.
Uganda await on 24 September, Botswana four days later. Tunisia will go into those games with wholesale changes – and a couple of very familiar leaders back in the dressing room.
Sassi Back at the Heart of It
Ferjani Sassi is in from the cold.
Once the captain’s armband wearer at the Africa Cup of Nations and the Arab Cup, the midfielder missed out on the World Cup. Now Chaabani has brought him back, a clear signal that experience and personality are required for the start of this qualifying campaign.
He is not alone. Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane and Aissa Laidouni also return, restoring a core of three players currently active in the Qatari league. For a side that looked in need of control and rhythm in recent months, that axis suddenly looks a lot more solid.
Maaloul Restored, Abdi Left Out
On the left, another big name is back.
Ali Maaloul returns after also being left out of the World Cup squad. His recall restores one of Tunisia’s most reliable outlets down the flank and adds another senior figure to a group that has lost several veterans.
Ali Abdi, though, does not make it. The Nice defender, who recently apologised after causing a stir in Tunisia by saying he was ready to skip the World Cup to help his club in the relegation play-offs, is omitted from Chaabani’s first list. The message is clear: reputations alone do not guarantee a place.
World Cup Core Broken Up
Only 14 players from the recent World Cup survive.
Hannibal Mejbri is absent through injury. Rani Khedira and Elyes Skhiri have both stepped away from international football, removing two important midfield options in one sweep.
Firas Chaouat, Dylan Bronn, Omar Rekik, Mohamed Haj Mahmoud, Mortadha Ben Ouanes and Elias Saad all drop out as well. The spine, the depth, the familiar rotation options – all reshaped in a single announcement.
This is not a tweak. It is a reset.
New Blood for a New Cycle
With so many departures, doors swing open.
Club Africain striker Mohamed Sadok Guidida receives his first senior call-up, rewarded for his rise at domestic level. Dijon midfielder Sami Chouchane is also summoned for the first time, another sign that Chaabani is ready to refresh the squad with youth and new profiles.
Those two join a group that blends returning pillars with players eager to seize a bigger role.
The Squad in Full
- Goalkeepers: Aymen Dahmen, Sabri Ben Hassen, Mouhib Chamekh.
- Defence: Yann Valery, Moatez Neffati, Adam Arous, Mohamed Nasraoui, Montassar Talbi, Alaa Ghram, Mohamed Amine Ben Hmida, Amine Charni, Ali Maaloul.
- Midfield: Ferjani Sassi, Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, Aissa Laidouni, Hamza Rafia, Sami Chouchane, Ismail Gharbi, Anis Ben Slimane.
- Attack: Khalil Ayari, Seifallah Ltaief, Elyes Achouri, Rayan Layouni, Sebastien Tounekti, Hamza Mastouri, Sadok Guidida.
Familiar faces are back. New ones are stepping in. The World Cup squad already feels like a snapshot from another era.
Now the question hangs over this reshaped Tunisia: can Chaabani’s bold reset turn a qualifying campaign into the start of something bigger?
