World Cup 06: Tunisia

In this series of posts we shall look at each country’s profile that will see action during the games. We continue with Tunisia (player profile). The full archive is found here.

Only winning one game against Mexico in the last 28 years does not speak well of this team. Being the first African country to win a finals has put them in the record books though. Below is their world cup record:

1978: (lost) Poland; (draw) Germany
1998: (lost) England, Columbia; (draw) Romania
1998: (lost) Russia, Japan; (draw) Belgium

Former French national coach Roger Lemerre has led the team to lift the trophy at the Rades stadium during the CAF African Cup of Nations in February 2004.

Their six wins, three draws and only one loss ensured them a place in World Cup Germany.

Their solid combination of players makes Tunisian fans hopeful about their chances.

World Cup facts:

World Ranking (Feb 06): 23
Group: H
Coach: Roger Lemerre
Road to Germany: Winners of Group Five
World Cup record: 1978, 1998, 2002
Tournament highlight: Beating Mexico 3-1 in 1978

Tunisia country facts is listed below:

Population: 9,705,102 (July 2001 est.)
Nationality: noun: Tunisian(s) adjective: Tunisian
Religions: Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1%
Languages: Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 66.7% male: 78.6% female: 54.6% (1995 est.)
GDP: purchasing power parity – $62.8 billion (2000 est.)
Currency: Tunisian dinar (TND)
Currency code: TND
Exchange rates: Tunisian dinars per US dollar – 1.3530 (April 2006)
Fiscal year: calendar year

Facts found via CIA.

Watch out for Tunisia. With only a single game win over the last 28 years; armed with experience, we may see another surprise win. You can see in this chart the list of teams and groups they belong to.