List of Tunisia national football team managers

Sabri Lamouchi, the current coach of the Tunisian national football team.

The position of Tunisia national football team manager was created in 1956, 39 men have held the position since its creation and the first was Rachid Turki.[1] Yugoslav Milan Kristić was the first foreign coach to supervise Tunisia, between 1960 and 1961, when he led the team to qualify for its first international tournament, the 1960 Summer Olympics.[2] Seven coaches have held the position on an interim basis: Faouzi Benzarti (one match during the 1994 African Cup of Nations), Sami Trabelsi (six matches in 2011, until his appointment on a full-time basis),[3] Ruud Krol (two matches in 2013),[4] Nizar Khanfir (one match in 2014),[5] Maher Kanzari (two matches in 2018),[6] Montasser Louhichi (four matches in 2024) and Kais Yaâkoubi (two matches in 2024).[7][8]

French coach Roger Lemerre remains the longest-serving coach in Tunisia's history, having overseen the team from 25 September 2002 to 30 June 2008, over a period of 72 matches. He is also the most successful coach, having led the team to won its first Africa Cup of Nations title in 2004. He also led the team during the 2005 Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. During his coaching career, Faouzi Benzarti has coached the Tunisian national team four times in 12 matches. The first was as an interim coach during the second match of the 1994 African Cup of Nations against Zaire, the second during the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, the third during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, and the last during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.

In 2024, a coaching dispute occurred in the team, as three coaches took turns in charge of the team after the dismissal of Jalel Kadri on 24 January. Montasser Louhichi was appointed temporarily on 26 January for two friendly matches in June and the third and fourth matchdays of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification,[9] and then Faouzi Benzarti was appointed on 1 July, the fourth time he had taken over the task in his career,[10] leading the team in four matches of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification after two wins, a draw and a defeat, he resigned from his position and was replaced by his assistant Kais Yaâkoubi temporarily on 5 November,[11] leading the team during the fifth and sixth days of the Afcon qualifiers, where he led the team to qualify after a win and a defeat.[12]

The Tunisia manager's role means he has sole responsibility for all on-the-field elements of the Tunisian team. Among other activities, this includes selecting the national team squad, the starting team, captain, tactics, substitutes and penalty-takers. The coach has a relative freedom to choose his staff as some of coaches refused to coach the Tunisian national team due to the Tunisian Football Federation’s refusal to appoint foreign assistant coaches. This was the case with Jacques Santini in 2008 and Raymond Domenech. However, the Tunisian Football Federation agreed to Henryk Kasperczak's proposal in 2015 to appoint Frenchman Patrick Hesse to the team.

List

As of 3 January 2026

Managers in italics were hired as caretakers.

Manager From To Pld W D L Win % Tournaments
Tunisia Rachid Turki 1956 1957 0 0 0 0 0.00% N/a
Algeria Habib Draoua (DTN)
Tunisia Hechmi Cherif
Tunisia Larbi Soudani 		1957 1960 15 7 2 6 46.67% N/a
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Milan Kristić 1960 1961 23 5 4 14 21.74% 1960 Summer Olympic Games – Group stage
1962 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Frane Matošić 1961 1962 6 1 2 3 16.67% 1962 African Cup of Nations – Third place
France André Gérard 1963 1965 34 15 9 10 44.12% 1963 Arab Cup – Champions
1963 African Cup of Nations – Group stage
Tunisia Mokhtar Ben Nacef 1965 1968 15 5 8 2 33.33% 1965 African Cup of Nations – Runners-up
1968 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Radojica Radojičić 17 November 1968 17 April 1969 9 2 3 4 22.22% N/a
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sereta Begović 27 April 1969 13 June 1969 5 0 4 1 0.00% 1970 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify
Tunisia Ameur Hizem (1) 11 November 1970 16 July 1974 33 16 6 11 48.48% 1974 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify
Hungary Andrej Prean Nagy September 1974 February 1975 10 4 1 5 40.00% N/a
Tunisia Abdelmajid Chetali[13] 12 February 1975 20 December 1978 52 18 18 16 34.61% 1976 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify
1978 African Cup of Nations – Fourth Place
1978 FIFA World Cup – Group stage
Tunisia Ameur Hizem (2) December 1978 April 1979 3 1 1 1 33.33% N/a
Tunisia Ahmed Dhib July 1979 August 1980 14 3 3 5 21.43% 1982 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify
Poland Ryszard Kulesza August 1981 December 1983 25 10 5 10 40.00% 1982 African Cup of Nations – Group stage
1984 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify
Tunisia Youssef Zouaoui (1) September 1984 February 1986 26 13 3 8 54.16% 1986 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify
1986 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify
France Jean Vincent October 1986 April 1987 10 1 2 7 10.00% 1988 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify
Tunisia Taoufik Ben Othman September 1987 July 1988 16 4 3 9 25.00% N/a
Poland Antoni Piechniczek (1) August 1988 September 1988 9 3 3 3 33.33% 1988 Summer Olympic Games – Group stage
Tunisia Mokhtar Tlili November 1988 July 1989 14 3 4 7 21.43% 1990 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify
Poland Antoni Piechniczek (2) July 1989 November 1989 8 2 2 4 25.00% 1990 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify
Tunisia Mrad Mahjoub April 1990 February 1993 26 8 13 5 30.77% 1992 African Cup of Nations – Failed to qualify
1994 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify
Tunisia Youssef Zouaoui (2) March 1993 March 1994 13 4 6 3 30.77% N/a
Tunisia Faouzi Benzarti (1) March 1994 March 1994 1 0 1 0 0.00% 1994 African Cup of Nations – Group stage
Poland Henryk Kasperczak (1) May 1994 June 1998 59 30 11 18 50.84% 1996 African Cup of Nations – Runners-up
1998 African Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals
1998 FIFA World Cup – Group stage
Italy Franco Scoglio September 1998 February 2001 32 19 8 5 59.73% 2000 African Cup of Nations – Fourth Place
Germany Eckhard Krautzun March 2001 July 2001 7 4 2 1 57.14% 2002 FIFA World Cup – Group stage
France Henri Michel 28 November 2001 13 March 2002 6 2 2 2 33.33% 2002 African Cup of Nations – Group stage
Tunisia Ammar Souayah 26 March 2002 24 July 2002 6 0 3 3 0.00% N/a
France Roger Lemerre[14] 25 September 2002 30 June 2008 67 40 15 12 59.70% 2004 African Cup of Nations – Champions
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup – Group stage
2006 Africa Cup of Nations  – Quarter-finals
2006 FIFA World Cup – Group stage
2008 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals
Portugal Humberto Coelho[15] 30 June 2008 18 November 2009 15 5 4 3 33.33% 2010 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify
Tunisia Faouzi Benzarti (2)[16] 23 November 2009 23 January 2010 4 0 3 1 0.00% 2010 Africa Cup of Nations – Group stage
France Bertrand Marchand[17] 4 June 2010 15 December 2010 6 3 1 2 50.00% N/a
Tunisia Sami Trabelsi[18] 11 March 2011 8 February 2013 32 13 9 10 40.63% 2012 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals
2013 Africa Cup of Nations – Group stage
Tunisia Nabil Maâloul (1)[19] 14 February 2013 8 September 2013 7 2 3 2 28.57% N/a
Netherlands Ruud Krol[20] 18 September 2013 17 November 2013 2 0 1 1 0.00% 2014 FIFA World Cup – Failed to qualify
Tunisia Nizar Khanfir[21] 19 February 2014 26 March 2014 1 0 1 0 0.00% N/a
Belgium Georges Leekens[22] 27 March 2014 26 June 2015 19 7 8 4 36.84% 2015 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals
Poland Henryk Kasperczak (2)[23] 13 July 2015 7 April 2017 26 12 5 10 46.15% 2017 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals
Tunisia Nabil Maâloul (2)[24] 27 April 2017 12 July 2018 13 6 4 3 46.15% 2018 FIFA World Cup – Group stage
Tunisia Faouzi Benzarti (3)[25] 28 July 2018 20 October 2018 3 3 0 0 100.00% N/a
Tunisia Maher Kanzari
Tunisia Mourad Okbi[26] 		21 October 2018 21 November 2018 2 0 0 2 0.00% N/a
France Alain Giresse[27] 14 December 2018 21 August 2019 12 5 4 3 41.67% 2019 Africa Cup of Nations – Fourth Place
Tunisia Mondher Kebaier[28] 29 August 2019 30 January 2022 31 19 4 8 61.29% 2021 FIFA Arab Cup – Runners-up
2021 Africa Cup of Nations – Quarter-finals
Tunisia Jalel Kadri[29] 30 January 2022 24 January 2024 27 14 7 6 51.85% 2022 FIFA World Cup – Group stage
2023 Africa Cup of Nations – Group stage
Tunisia Montasser Louhichi[30] 26 January 2024 30 June 2024 4 1 3 0 25.00% N/a
Tunisia Faouzi Benzarti (4)[31] 1 July 2024 22 October 2024 4 2 1 1 50.00% N/a
Tunisia Kais Yaâkoubi[32] 5 November 2024 18 November 2024 2 1 0 1 50.00% N/a
Tunisia Sami Trabelsi (2)[33] 10 February 2025 4 January 2026 19 11 5 3 57.89% 2025 FIFA Arab Cup – Group stage
2025 Africa Cup of Nations – Round of 16
France Tunisia Sabri Lamouchi[34] 14 January 2026 Present 0 0 0 0 0.00% 2026 FIFA World Cup – Qualified

Statistics

Roger Lemerre led the team to win the only Africa Cup of Nations in 2004.
Faouzi Benzarti is the only coach to take charge of Tunisia in four terms.
Nat Manager Stats
First coach Tunisia Rachid Turki 1956
Longest period France Roger Lemerre 5 years, 280 days
Shortest period Tunisia Faouzi Benzarti (1) 4 days
Most matches France Roger Lemerre 67 matches
Less matches Tunisia Faouzi Benzarti (1) 1 match
Most wins France Roger Lemerre 40 wins
Most defeats Poland Henryk Kasperczak (1) 18 defeats
Highest win% Tunisia Faouzi Benzarti (3) 100.00%
Lowest win% Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Tunisia
Netherlands
Tunisia 		Sereta Begović
Ammar Souayah
Ruud Krol
Faouzi Benzarti (1&2) 		0.00%

By nationality

Country Managers
 Tunisia 17
 France 6
 Poland 3
 Yugoslavia
 Algeria 1
 Belgium
 Croatia
 Germany
 Hungary
 Italy
 Netherlands
 Portugal

References

  1. ^ "Portail internet de la Fédération Tunisienne de Football". Archived from the original on 2009-05-23. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  2. ^ "Olympic Football Tournament 1960 - National Squads". Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Tunisie : Trabelsi nommé sélectionneur". www.maxifoot.fr (in French). Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  4. ^ "Ruud Krol nouveau sélectionneur de la Tunisie". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  5. ^ "Tunisie - Colombie : Nizar Khanfir assurera l'intérim | Revue de Sport". news.gnet.tn. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  6. ^ "[EN] : Fin de mission pour le duo Kanzari/Okbi". Tunisie-Foot (in French). Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  7. ^ Mabele, Cheikh (2024-03-15). "Aigles de Carthage : Louhichi sélectionneur intérimaire (Officiel)". 2022MAG (in French). Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  8. ^ Baptiste, Jean (2024-11-06). "Tunisie : Kais Yaâkoubi assure l'intérim comme sélectionneur". Toute l’actualité CAN et des équipes nationales africaines - ZoneFoot.net (in French). Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  9. ^ "SU Cup Cairo : Quel visage pour la Tunisie version Montassar Louhichi face à la Croatie ?". www.kawarji.com. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  10. ^ Boubaker, Saber Ben (2024-06-14). "Décisions FTF : officiel. Benzarti nouveau sélectionneur national (communiqué)". Sport By TN (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  11. ^ "Faouzi Benzarti n'est plus sélectionneur des Aigles de Carthage". Mosaique FM (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  12. ^ Presse, La (2024-10-26). "Equipe nationale : Kaïs Yaâkoubi remplace Benzarti". La Presse de Tunisie (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  13. ^ "Abdelmajid Chétali: L'artisan de l'épopée argentine". Leaders (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  14. ^ d'Allonnes, David Revault. "Lemerre qu'on voit valser". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  15. ^ BO (2024-06-14). "Coelho s'occupera de la Tunisie". DHnet (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  16. ^ "Faouzi Benzarti aux commandes de l'EN à la CAN 2010". E-S-Tunis.com (in French). 2009-11-18. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  17. ^ "[EN] Bertrand Marchand nouveau sélectionneur". Tunisie-Foot (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  18. ^ "Sami Trabelsi nouvel entraîneur de la sélection nationale". E-S-Tunis.com (in French). 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  19. ^ "Tunisie - Cap Vert: Liste des joueurs retenus par Nabil Maaloul | Directinfo" (in French). 2013-08-28. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  20. ^ "Krol appointed interim Tunisia coach". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  21. ^ "Tunisie-Colombie : Nizar Khanfir pour assurer l'intérim". JawharaFM. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  22. ^ "Le Belge Georges Leekens nouveau sélectionneur de la Tunisie". RFI (in French). 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  23. ^ "Tunisie : Henryk Kasperczak nommé sélectionneur des Aigles de Carthage - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  24. ^ "Tunisie : Nabil Maâloul est le nouveau sélectionneur de l'équipe nationale de football - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  25. ^ "Faouzi Benzarti returns as Tunisia's new national coach". BBC Sport. 20 July 2018.
  26. ^ Juillard, Patrick (2018-10-21). "Tunisie : Maher Kanzari et Mourad Okbi assureront l'intérim de Faouzi Benzarti". Football 365 (in French). Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  27. ^ "Tunisia name Frenchman Alain Giresse as new coach". BBC Sport. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  28. ^ "Kebaier appointed as Tunisia coach". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  29. ^ FIAUDRIN, Aymeric (2024-01-24). "CAN. Jalel Kadri annonce sa démission après l'élimination de la Tunisie". Ouest-France.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  30. ^ "Tunisie : Anis Boussaidi et Montassar Louhichi assurent l'intérim à la tête du Onze national". Webdo TN (in French). 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  31. ^ "Faouzi Benzarti, sélectionneur de l'équipe nationale". Mosaique FM (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  32. ^ "[EN] : Kais Yaakoubi et Othmane Najjar assurent l'intérim". Tunisie-Foot (in French). Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  33. ^ "Sami Trabelsi returns as Tunisia's head coach ahead of World Cup qualifiers". CAF Online. 12 February 2025.
  34. ^ Haddad, Ramzi (2026-01-14). "Sabri Lamouchi nommé sélectionneur national jusqu'en 2028". webdo (in French). Retrieved 2026-01-14.
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