When it comes to choosing between home-grown and foreign coaches, Tunisia are the exception among all the Arab nations that have graced the FIFA World Cup. In their five world finals campaigns to date, the Carthage Eagles have had three Tunisians in charge.
A fourth will take them to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Appointed an assistant in June 2021, Jalel Kadri was promoted to head coach at the start of this year, a surprise choice just a few months out from the first world finals to be held in the Arab world. The Carthage Eagles are hoping he can help them break a run of poor results on the big stage since they impressed on their debut at Argentina 1978.
Tunisia marked that first appearance at the World Cup with a win, a draw and a defeat, just missing out on a place in the second round. The class of 2022 are intent on faring better.
Led by the likes of Dylan Bronn, Ellyes Skhiri and Youssef Msakni, they are determined to overcome the national team's first-round curse and go further than any of their predecessors. With Denmark, Australia and France providing the opposition in Group D at Qatar 2022, the North Africans will need their key men to fire if they are to make any progress at the tournament.
As the countdown to Qatar 2022 continues, we look at Tunisia's five players to watch.
Dylan Bronn
Position: Defender
Age: 27
The centre-half was at the heart of one of the transfer sagas of the summer in France, as Metz struggled in vain to hold on to him in the face of interest from domestic rivals Lorient and Nantes and Italian outfit Salernitana, his eventual destination. Bronn also hopes to make headlines at Qatar 2022 as the defensive general of a Carthage Eagles side anxious to bring some joy to their fans.
Bronn has been a key part of the Tunisia line-up since Henryk Kasperczak handed him his first cap in 2017. Comfortable on the ball, he is a tough defender for opponents to get past, something that happened to him only 0.4 times per match in Ligue 1 last season. Though injury and Covid-19 have restricted his appearances in the last few months, he can be expected to have a big part to play at Qatar 2022.
Capped 35 times by his country, he has plenty of experience under his belt and knows what the World Cup is all about, having played two games at Russia 2018: the 2-1 defeat to England and the 5-2 loss to Belgium, who eventually finished third. Bronn scored in the second of those matches.
The centre-half will line up alongside the likes of Nader Ghandri, Bilal al Ayfa and Montasar Talbi in defence at Qatar 2022, where he will bring versatility to the side, given that he can also slot in at right-back.
Ellyes Skhiri
Position: Midfielder
Age: 27
Now in his fourth season in Germany, the Cologne player is one of the cornerstones of the Tunisia midfield and will have an important role to play in blunting the threat of the likes of Christian Eriksen, Paul Pogba, Aurelien Tchouameni and Emil Hojbjerg at Qatar 2022. It is a role he has performed with distinction at his club in the last two seasons.
Skhiri has a gift for cutting out opposition passes (he averages 3.7 interceptions a match), winning the ball, blocking shots, playing passes in the opposition half and creating chances (as many as 1.3 per match in the Bundesliga this season). Add to that his ability to shoot from distance and it is clear to see how vital he is to Tunisian hopes at the world finals.
Now approaching his 50th cap with the Carthage Eagles, Skhiri has talent and experience to offer his side at Qatar 2022, having played every minute of Tunisia's three matches at Russia 2018.
Aissa Laidouni
Position: Midfielder
Age: 25
Formerly with Angers, where he made a single Ligue 1 appearance at the age of 19, Laidouni moved to Ferencvaros in 2020. His fine form with the Hungarian giants earned him a national-team call-up during the qualifiers for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in March last year. He has since become a vital cog in the Tunisia machine, first under Munther al Kabeer and now with Jalel Kadri.
Though unable to make an impression in the French top flight, Laidouni is currently flying high with his club in the UEFA Europa League, where the Hungarians lie top of their section, ahead of Monaco and Trabzonspor. His shooting, passing and ability to intercept passes have gone a long way to putting them there.
Laidouni has made 22 appearances for his country in all. Though he was left out of last year's FIFA Arab Cup™ to give others a chance, he has started and finished the Carthage Eagles' last 11 competitive matches, an indication of just how central he is to their hopes.
Youssef Msakni
Position: Forward
Age: 31
Now back at Qatari club Al Duhail after a very brief stay in Europe, Msakni remains an integral part of the Tunisia set-up, having first caught the eye of former Carthage Eagles coach Faouzi Benzarti with his dribbling and shooting 12 years ago, when he was only 19.
In and out of the side for various reasons, chief among them a string of injuries, Msakni has always proved his worth whenever returning to the national-team fold. Further proof of that came when he scored a quickfire brace after replacing Hannibal Mejbri at half-time in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Equatorial Guinea in June. An extremely versatile performer, Msakni can play at left-back, centre-forward, left wing and as an attacking midfielder.
The forward has 17 goals to his name in 85 appearances for Tunisia. Qatar 2022 will be his first World Cup, after a serious ankle injury kept him out of Russia 2018. A further injury sustained on club duty before September's national-team training camp had the fans worrying he might miss out on the big event for the second time running, which shows how much they are banking on him at Qatar 2022.
Wahbi Khazri
Position: Forward
Age: 31
Last season was not the best of Khazri's career, as St Etienne dropped into the French second division. A move to Montpellier followed, raising hopes among the fans that the front man will be on top form come Qatar.
With his long-range shooting skills, set-piece ability and gift for holding the ball up and dribbling past opponents, Khazri is the kind of forward every coach dreams of having. He also does his fair share of defensive work, an essential facet of the modern forward's game.
Not the tallest of front men, he can struggle to win balls in the air and he also has a tendency to stray offside, though he makes up for it with everything else he brings to the table, not least his ability to create and score goals.
Named his country's player of the year in 2018, Khazri boasts almost as much international experience as fellow stars Msakni, Ali Maaloul and Ferjani Sassi. Though he has missed more games than he has played lately, due to injury and Kadri's willingness to try out other players in less important matches, Khazri will have a big part to play in the Carthage Eagles attack at Qatar 2022. He can be relied upon to give defenders of the calibre of Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Andreas Christensen and Simon Kjaer plenty to think about.
