Tunisia arrive at the 2026 World Cup for their seventh appearance, a record built since Argentina 1978. The Carthage Eagles have never progressed beyond the group stage across those six prior tournaments, yet they carry a defining piece of history: in 1978 they became the first African nation to win a World Cup match, defeating Mexico three goals to one in Rosario. At Qatar 2022 they added another landmark, beating reigning champions France one goal to nil, only to be eliminated on goal difference as Australia beat Denmark in the parallel fixture.

Tunisia's road to 2026 was the standout CAF qualifying campaign of the entire cycle. Drawn into Group H alongside Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia and São Tomé and Príncipe, they clinched their place on 09/08/25 with a stoppage time winner from Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane against Equatorial Guinea, finishing as group winners with 28 points from ten matches: nine wins and one draw. Remarkably, they conceded zero goals across the entire campaign. No team from Africa arrived at the 2026 finals with a more commanding qualifying record.