Ellyes Skhiri to captain Tunisia in World Cup as Rani Khedira receives call up | OneFootball

Ellyes Skhiri will be the captain of Tunisia in the World Cup after the 101-time international Ferjani Sassi was omitted from the final squad. Rani Khedira, Ismael Gharbi and Elias Saad are included in the 26-man selection.

Skhiri represented his nation 81 times since making his debut in 2018. The Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder played in the last six Tunisia World Cup games in the 2018 and 2022 editions.

Khedira made his debut in the last international break after he finalized the naturalization process at the age of 32. The brother of the Union Berlin midfielder, Sami, won the World Cup with Germany in 2014.

Gharbi and Saad are under contract at Rani Khedira’s former club Augsburg, although the latter is currently on loan at promotion-chasing Hannover in 2. Bundesliga. Tunisia’s final squad also includes Hertha BSC’s former center-back Omar Rekik. Meanwhile, Louey Ben Farhat is excluded after his father’s request.

Tunisia face a tough group with Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands seeded alongside them. Germany’s neighbours are the only ones yet to announce their final squad from Group F.

Full Tunisia squad for the 2026 World Cup:

Goalkeepers: Sabri Ben Hessen (Etoile Sahel), Abdelmouhib Chamakh (Club Africain), Aymen Dahman (CS Sfaxien)

Defenders: Ali Abdi (Nice), Adem Arous (Kasimpasa), Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida (Esperance), Dylan Bronn (Servette Geneva), Raed Chikhaoui (US Monastir), Moutaz Neffati (Norrkoping), Omar Rekik (NK Maribor), Montassar Talbi (Lorient), Yan Valery (Young Boys Berne)

Midfielders: Mortadha Ben Ouanes (Kasimpasa), Anis Ben Slimane (Norwich City), Ismael Gharbi (FC Augsburg), Rani Khedira (Union Berlin), Mohamed Hadj Mahmoud (Lugano), Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley), Ellyes Skhiri (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Forwards: Elias Achouri (FC Copenhagen), Khalil Ayari (Paris St Germain), Firas Chaouat (Club Africain), Rayan Elloumi (Vancouver Whitecaps), Hazem Mastouri (Dynamo Makhachkala), Elias Saad (Hannover 96), Sebastian Tounekti (Celtic)