Tunisia will be led by Jalel Kadri at World Cup 2022, after the manager was promoted to the top job earlier this year.
Kadri was first involved with the Eagles of Carthage at youth level, when he took charge of the Under-20s in 2007. Spells with a string of Tunisian clubs followed, while Kadri has also coached four different teams in Saudi Arabia.
He returned to the national team as an assistant in 2013 and was part of Tunisia’s coaching team when they failed to qualify for the World Cup the following year, losing to Cameroon in the final round.
Kadri returned to club football but eventually returned to the Tunisia set-up as an assistant in June 2021, and soon after took the full senior job on for the first time.
His first opportunity to show what he could do came when manager Mondher Kebaier contracted Covid-19 during the Africa Cup of Nations in January, and Kadri had to lead Tunisia in their last 16 match against Nigeria.
The boss oversaw a stunning 1-0 victory over the much-fancied Nigerians, as Youssef Msakni’s long-range shot sent them to the quarter-finals despite the fact that Tunisia were missing seven players and Kebaier through Covid. The Tunisians were subsequently knocked out by Burkina Faso at the next stage, which led to Kebaier’s dismissal and Kadri’s promotion to the top job.
Since becoming manager, Jalel Kadri has helped Tunisia qualify for the World Cup by beating Mali 1-0 on aggregate in the final round in March, hitting his main targets. They also triumphed in this summer’s Kirin Cup mini-tournament, beating Chile and hosts Japan as they head to Qatar full of confidence.
However, Tunisia are drawn in Group D with France, Denmark and Australia, so will need to be on top form to progress into the knockout rounds.
Manchester United's Hannibal Mejbri, who is on loan at Birmingham City, will likely be part of Tunisia manager Jalel Kadri's World Cup 2022 squad, with former Sunderland forward Wahbi Khazri also among their ranks.
