Tunisia have parted ways with head coach Sami Trabelsi following the Carthage Eagles’ elimination from the 2025 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday, January 4th, 2026.
The decision was confirmed by the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) on Sunday, less than 24 hours after Tunisia were knocked out of the tournament by Mali on penalties in the Round of 16, following a 1–1 draw after extra time.
In an official statement explaining the move, the federation said the decision was taken by mutual agreement with the technical staff, citing the team’s early exit from the competition.
“The Executive Committee has decided to terminate the contractual relationship by mutual consent with the entire technical staff of the national team,” the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) said in a statement on Sunday.
Despite an impressive World Cup qualifying campaign—nine wins and one draw in ten matches without conceding a single goal—Tunisia disappointed at the AFCON finals. The team managed to win just one game and failed to keep a clean sheet throughout the tournament.
As a result, a new coach will prepare the team for the 2026 World Cup. Their group stage opponents will include the Netherlands, Japan, and the winner of the European play-off B (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, or Albania).
In February 2025, Trabelsi was named as the new head coach of the Tunisian national team, marking his return to the role 12 years after his first tenure replacing Faouzi Benzarti who was sacked in October 2024.
Trabelsi, 57, previously led Tunisia between 2011 and 2013, guiding them to victory in the 2011 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Sudan and securing qualification for the 2012 and 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments.
