Tunisia national under-20 football team

Currently, Tunisia national under-20 football team is a topic of great relevance and interest in different areas of society. Whether on a personal, professional, academic or social level, Tunisia national under-20 football team has captured attention and generated much debate. With the increasing importance of Tunisia national under-20 football team in our daily lives, it is essential to understand its implications, challenges and opportunities. In this article, we will thoroughly explore Tunisia national under-20 football team and analyze its impact on various aspects of our life. From its origins to its evolution today, Tunisia national under-20 football team has become a topic that cannot be ignored. Join us on this journey to discover everything there is to know about Tunisia national under-20 football team.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Tunisia women's national under-20 football team.

Tunisia U-20
Nickname(s)نسور قرطاج
(Eagles of Carthage)
AssociationTunisian Football Federation
Other affiliationUAFA (Arab World)
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationUNAF (North Africa)
Head coachAbdelhay Ben Soltane
Home stadiumHammadi Agrebi Stadium
FIFA codeTUN
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
First international
 Tunisia 0–6 Mexico 
(Tunis, Tunisia; 27 June 1977)
Biggest win
 Tunisia 5–0 Libya 
(Tunis, Tunisia; 20 July 2002)
Biggest defeat
 Tunisia 0–6 Mexico 
(Tunis, Tunisia; 27 June 1977)
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1977)
Best resultRound of 16 (2023)
U-20 Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances9 (first in 1979)
Best resultRunners-up (1985)
Arab Cup U-20
Appearances4 (first in 2012)
Best resultChampions (2012)

The Tunisia national under-20 football team has represented Tunisia in men's international association football for players aged 20 or under. The team is administered by the Tunisian Football Federation (TFF), which governs football in Tunisia. On a continental level, the team competes under the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which governs associate football in Africa, and is also affiliated with FIFA for global competitions. Additionally, the team is a member of the Union of North African Football (UNAF) and the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The team is colloquially known as Eagles of Carthage by fans and the media, with the bald eagle serving as its symbol. Their home kit is primarily white and their away kit is red, which is a reference to the national flag of the country. Abdelhay Ben Soltane is the current head coach.

The Tunisian national team qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup three times: the inaugural edition in 1977 as hosts, 1985 and 2023, reaching the round of 16 in the last participation. The team qualified nine times for the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, finishing second in 1985 after losing the final to Nigeria. The team did not qualify for the tournament for 32 years, returning to the 2021 and 2023 editions, achieving fourth place in both. The team participated four times in the Arab Cup U-20. He won the title in the first participation in 2012 after defeating Saudi Arabia in the final. He also reached the 2020 final but lost to Senegal, who were invited to the tournament. Tunisia has participated in the Mediterranean Games with the under-20 category six times, winning the gold medal in 2001 as host after defeating Italy in the final, and the bronze medal in 2013. The Tunisian national team is the most successful team in UNAF. He participated in the UNAF U-20 Tournament sixteen times, winning the title nine times as a record in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. He also achieved second place three times and third place twice.

Current staff

The current staff was appointed on 16 April 2025.[1][2]

Position Name
Head Coach Tunisia Abdelhay Ben Soltane
Assistant coach Tunisia Aymen Mathlouthi
Goalkeeping Coach Tunisia Hassen Bejaoui
Fitness Coach Tunisia Anis Kazouz
Performance Analyst Tunisia Walid Ben Tamansourt

Honours

2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up: 1985
1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions: 2012
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up: 2020
1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions: 2001
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third Place: 2013
1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions: 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up: 2008, 2010, 2015
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third Place: 2006, 2024

Competitive records

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

  • Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

FIFA U-20 World Cup

FIFA U-20 World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Tunisia 1977 Group stage 14th 3 1 0 2 1 7
Japan 1979 Did not qualify
Australia 1981
Mexico 1983
Soviet Union 1985 Group stage 16th 3 0 0 3 2 6
Chile 1987 Did not qualify
Saudi Arabia 1989
Portugal 1991
Australia 1993
Qatar 1995
Malaysia 1997
Nigeria 1999
Argentina 2001
United Arab Emirates 2003
Netherlands 2005
Canada 2007
Egypt 2009
Colombia 2011
Turkey 2013
New Zealand 2015
South Korea 2017
Poland 2019
Indonesia 2021 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[3]
Argentina 2023 Round of 16 15th 4 1 0 3 4 6
Chile 2025 To be determined
Total Round of 16 3/24 10 2 0 8 7 19

U-20 Africa Cup of Nations

U-20 Africa Cup of Nations record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
1979 Second round – 4 2 1 1 4 2
1981 Second round – 4 2 0 2 5 6
1983 First round – 2 0 1 1 0 4
1985 Runner-up 2nd 8 1 5 2 5 5
1987 Quarter-finals – 4 1 3 0 3 2
1989 First round – 2 0 2 0 2 2
Egypt 1991 Withdrew after qualification
Mauritius 1993 Did not qualify
Nigeria 1995
Morocco 1997
Ghana 1999
Ethiopia 2001
Burkina Faso 2003
Benin 2005
Republic of the Congo 2007
Democratic Republic of the Congo 2009
South Africa 2011
Algeria 2013
Senegal 2015
Zambia 2017
Niger 2019
Mauritania 2021 Fourth Place 4th 6 1 3 2 4 6
Egypt 2023 Fourth Place 4th 6 1 2 3 5 12
Egypt 2025 Qualified
Total Runners-up 8/22 36 8 17 11 28 39

Arab Cup U-20

Arab Cup U-20 record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Morocco 2011 Did not enter
Jordan 2012 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 14 9
Qatar 2014 Cancelled
Saudi Arabia 2020 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 10 3
Egypt 2021 Fourth Place 4th 5 4 0 1 6 3
Saudi Arabia 2022 Quarter-finals 5th 3 2 0 1 9 1
Total 1 Title 4/5 19 14 2 3 39 16

Mediterranean Games

Mediterranean Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
1951 – 1987 See Tunisia national football team
Greece 1991 Group stage 7th 2 1 0 1 1 5
France 1993 Group stage 7th 3 1 0 2 2 5
Italy 1997 Did not enter
Tunisia 2001 Champions 1st 4 3 0 1 7 1
Spain 2005 Quarter-finals 7th 3 0 3 0 4 4
Italy 2009 Group stage 7th 4 2 1 1 6 5
Turkey 2013 Third Place 3rd 5 3 1 1 10 5
Since Spain 2018 See Tunisia national under-18 football team
Total 1 Title 6/12 21 10 5 6 30 25

UNAF U-20 Tournament

UNAF U-20 Tournament record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Tunisia 2005 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 4 1
Egypt 2006 Third Place 3rd 4 1 3 0 ? ?
Libya 2007 Champions 1st 3 2 0 1 4 3
Morocco 2008 Runner-up 2nd 4 2 2 0 5 3
Libya 2009 Champions 1st 3 2 0 1 4 1
Libya 2010 Runner-up 2nd 3 0 2 1 4 5
Libya 2011 Did not participate
Algeria 2012 Champions 1st 2 1 1 0 3 2
Algeria 2012 Fifth Place 5th 2 1 0 1 2 4
Libya 2014 Fourth Place 4th 2 0 0 2 1 3
Tunisia 2015 Runner-up 2nd 2 1 0 1 3 2
Mauritania 2016 Cancelled
Tunisia 2019 Champions 1st 4 2 1 1 5 4
Tunisia 2020 Champions 1st 3 1 2 0 2 1
Tunisia 2021 Champions 1st 4 3 1 0 11 4
Egypt 2022 Champions 1st 3 1 2 0 5 4
Tunisia 2023 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 15 6
Egypt 2024 Third Place 3rd 4 2 0 2 5 5
Total 9 Titles 16/17 50 26 14 10 – –

African Games

African Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
1965–1987 See Tunisia national football team
1991–2015 See Tunisia national under-23 football team
Morocco 2019 Did not qualify
Ghana 2023 Withdrew after qualification
Egypt 2027 To be determined
Total – 0/2 – – – – – –

See also

References

  1. ^ "Abdelhay Ben Soltane nouveau sélectionneur des U20" [Abdelhay Ben Soltane new U20 coach]. Mosaique FM (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  2. ^ " : Ben Soltane aux commandes des Aigles de Carthage U20" [NT: Ben Soltane at the helm of the U20 Eagles of Carthage]. Tunisie-Foot (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  3. ^ "Update on FIFA Women's World Cup and men's youth competitions". FIFA. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2021.