Tunisia men's national handball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Tunisia women's national handball team.

Tunisia
Information
Nickname	نسور قرطاج (Eagles of Carthage)
Association	Tunisian Handball Federation
Coach	Thierry Anti
Assistant coach	Mohamed Boughzala
Most caps	Issam Tej (316)
Most goals	Oussama Boughanmi (865)
Colours
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances	4 (First in 1972)
Best result	8th (2012)
World Championship
Appearances	17 (First in 1967)
Best result	4th (2005)
African Championship
Appearances	27 (First in 1974)
Best result	1st (1974, 1976, 1979, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2018)
Last updated on Unknown.

Tunisia men's national handball team

Medal record
Representing Tunisia
Handball
African Championship
	1974 Tunisia
	1976 Algeria
	1979 Congo
	1994 Tunisia
	1998 South Africa
	2002 Morocco
	2006 Tunisia
	2010 Egypt
	2012 Morocco
	2018 Gabon
	1985 Angola
	1992 Ivory Coast
	1996 Benin
	2004 Egypt
	2008 Angola
	2014 Algeria
	2016 Egypt
	2020 Tunisia
	2026 Rwanda
	1981 Tunisia
	1983 Egypt
	1987 Morocco
	1989 Algeria
	1991 Egypt
	2000 Algeria
	2024 Egypt
African Games
	1978 Algiers	Team
	1965 Brazzaville	Team
	2007 Algiers	Team
Mediterranean Games
	2001 Tunis	Team
	2018 Tarragona	Team
	1967 Tunis	Team
	1979 Split	Team
	2005 Almería	Team
	2009 Pescara	Team
Pan Arab Games
	1985 Rabat	Team
	1992 Damascus	Team
	2011 Doha	Team

The Tunisia men's national handball team (Arabic: منتخب تونس لكرة اليد), nicknamed Eagles of Carthage, is the national handball team of Tunisia. It is controlled by the Tunisian Handball Federation (THF) and takes part in international handball competitions. The Tunisian Handball League was created in 1953. In 1957, the Tunisian Handball Federation was founded and then admitted to the International Handball Federation in 1962.

The Tunisian national team participates in several world championships. In 2005 World Championship, Tunisia finished fourth, becoming the second non-European team to reach the semi-finals of the world championship after Egypt, which reached the semi-finals in 2001. The Tunisian team won the African Championship for a record ten titles (1974, 1976, 1979, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2018. Egypt and Algeria are Tunisia's main rivals on the African continent. Following the 2026 African Championship, Egypt tied Tunisia's record of ten continental titles.

The national team is mainly and generally composed of players from Espérance Sportive de Tunis, Club Africain and Étoile Sportive du Sahel, these teams being the traditional locomotives of the national handball scene, as well as players playing in Europe, mainly in France.

History

Tunisia is the most successful team in the African Nations Championship with ten titles won in 1974, 1976, 1979, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2018, and played in the final eight times in 1985, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2016 and 2020. They also won a bronze medal six times in 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 2000.

At the World Championships, in 2005 it obtained the best performance obtained by an African country, a fourth place, thus equaling Egypt (place obtained in 2001). During the 2005–06 season, Heykel Megannem was voted the best player in the French championship, with Wissem Hmam and Issam Tej also being in the standard team, respectively as left-back and pivot.

Following the 2009 world championship, the federation sidelined Issam Tej for "indiscipline, insolence and recidivism" and Makram Missaoui for "having refused to resume play against Poland", while Maher Kraiem was suspended for three months for “misconduct”. The team is coached by the Croatian Sead Hasanefendić until June 2008, before being replaced by the Serb Zoran Živković from 24 October 2008. However, the federation dismisses him following the poor performance of the team during the 2009 world championship. He was replaced by the Tunisian Sayed Ayari and then, in June 2009, by the Frenchman Alain Portes, who signed a three-year contract.

In 2013, Alain Portes' contract was not being renewed, so he took over from Olivier Krumbholz at the head of the French women's team and was replaced by Sead Hasanefendić, back at the head of the national team for the following three seasons. In 2020, coach Toni Gerona was dismissed.

Infrastructure

The El Menzah Sports Palace, built in 1967, is the hall of the national team. Built for the 2005 World Men's Handball Championship, of which it hosted the final and all of Tunisia's matches, the Salle Omnisport de Radès now hosted most of the national team's matches.

Honours

Official competitions

African Nations Championship

• Champions (10) : 1974, 1976, 1979, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2018
• Runners-up: 1985, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2026
• Third Place: 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2000, 2024

African Games

• Runners-up: 1978
• Third Place: 1965, 2007

Mediterranean Games

• Runners-up: 2001, 2018
• Third Place: 1967, 1979, 2005, 2009

Pan Arab Games

• Champions: 1985
• Third Place: 1992, 2011

Minor tournaments

World cup

• Runners-up:  2006

Yellow Cup

• Champions:  2007, 2015, 2016, 2019
• Runners-up:  2002, 2003, 2004, 2020
• Third Place:  2008, 2010

Paris Ile-de-France tournament

• Champions:  2005
• Third Place:  1998, 2002, 2007, 2013

Championnat maghrébin des nations

• Champions :  1969, 1971, 1973

Tunisia international tournament

• Champions:  2015, 2017, 2021

Four Nations Cup Poland

• Champions:  2021, 2022

Three Nations Cup Tunisia

• Champions:  2023

Challenge Marrane

• Champions:  2008

Four Nations Tournament

• Runners-up:  2015

Air Caraïbes Cup

• Runners-up:  2019

Spain international tournament

• Third Place:  1999, 2002, 2012

Competitive record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

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

Olympic Games

Olympic Games
Games	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1936	Part of France
Not held from 1948 to 1968
1972	Match for 15th place	16th	5	0	0	5	72	118	−46
1976	Withdrawn after two games
1980	Did not qualify
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000	Match for 9th place	10th	6	1	0	5	130	141	−11
2004	Did not qualify
2008
2012	Quarter-finals	8th	6	2	0	4	144	150	−6
2016	Group stage	12th	5	0	1	4	118	145	−27
2020	Did not qualify
2024
Total	4/15	0 Titles	22	3	1	18	464	554	−90

World Championship

World Championships
Games	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1938	Part of France
1954
1958	Did not enter
1961
1964
1967	Group stage	15th	3	0	0	3	23	66	−43
1970	Did not enter
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1993
1995	Round of 16	15th	7	2	0	5	160	183	−23
1997	Round of 16	16th	6	2	0	4	106	128	−22
1999	Round of 16	12th	6	2	1	3	133	142	−9
2001	Round of 16	10th	6	3	0	3	140	136	+4
2003	Second round	14th	7	2	0	5	178	186	−8
2005	Fourth place	4th	10	5	3	2	311	252	+59
2007	Main round	11th	8	3	0	5	237	237	0
2009	Group stage	17th	9	5	0	4	264	250	+14
2011	Group stage	20th	7	1	0	6	168	193	−25
2013	Round of 16	11th	6	3	0	3	146	153	−7
2015	Round of 16	15th	6	2	1	3	152	161	−9
2017	Group stage	19th	7	2	2	3	209	202	+7
2019	Main round	12th	8	3	0	5	205	238	−33
2021	Presidents Cup	25th	7	4	1	2	209	182	+27
2023	Presidents Cup	25th	7	4	1	2	208	196	+12
2025	Main round	22nd	6	1	0	5	143	189	−46
2027	Qualified
2029	To be determined
2031
Total	Fourth place	18/21	116	44	9	63	2992	3094	−102

• Tunisia did not compete From 1938 to 1964 and 1970 to 1993.
• Red border color indicates tournament was held on home :soil.

African Championship

African Championship
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L
1974	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0
1976	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0
1979	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0
1981	Third place	3rd	3	2	1	0
1983	Third place	3rd	6	4	0	2
1985	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	0	2
1987	Third place	3rd	5	3	0	2
1989	Third place	3rd	5	3	0	2
1991	Third place	3rd	6	3	1	2
1992	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1
1994	Champions	1st	6	6	0	0
1996	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	0	1
1998	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1
2000	Third place	3rd	6	3	1	2
2002	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0
2004	Runners-up	2nd	7	6	0	1
2006	Champions	1st	7	7	0	0
2008	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1
2010	Champions	1st	8	8	0	0
2012	Champions	1st	8	8	0	0
2014	Runners-up	2nd	8	7	0	1
2016	Runners-up	2nd	8	7	0	1
2018	Champions	1st	7	6	1	0
2020	Runners-up	2nd	7	6	0	1
2022	Fourth place	4th	5	3	0	2
2024	Third place	3rd	6	5	0	1
2026	Runners-up	2nd	7	5	1	1
Total	Champions	27/27	159	129	6	24

African Games

African Games
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L
1965	Third place	3rd	5	2	1	2
1973	Did not participate
1978	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1
1987	Did not participate
1991
1995	Withdrew
1999	Did not participate
2003
2007	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2
2011	Did not participate
2015
2019
Total	Runners-up	3/12	14	8	1	5

Mediterranean Games

Mediterranean Games
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L
1967	Third place	3rd	3	1	0	2
1971	Tournament canceled
1975	Fourth place	4th	4	1	0	3
1979	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2
1983	Fourth place	4th
1987	Did not participate
1991
1993
1997	Eighth place	8th	5	1	0	4
2001	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1
2005	Third place	3rd	5	4	0	1
2009	Third place	3rd	6	4	0	2
2013	Group stage	7th	5	2	1	2
2018	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1
2022	Fifth Place	5th	5	3	0	2
Total	Runners-up	11/14

Pan Arab Games

Arab Games
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L
1961	Did not participate
1965
1976
1985	Champions	1st
1992	Third place	3rd
1997	Tournament canceled
1999	Did not participate
2004	Tournament canceled
2007	Did not participate
2011	Third place	3rd
Total	Champions	3/10

Other records

Other records
Year	Round	Position
1969 Maghreb Nations Championship	Final	Champions
1971 Maghreb Nations Championship	Final	Champions
1973 Maghreb Nations Championship	Final	Champions
1998 Paris Ile-de-France tournament	Semi-final	Third place
1999 Spain international tournament	Semi-final	Third place
2002 Paris Ile-de-France tournament	Semi-final	Third place
2002 Yellow Cup	Final	Runners-up
2002 Spain international tournament	Semi-final	Third place
2003 Yellow Cup	Final	Runners-up
2004 Yellow Cup	Final	Runners-up
2005 Paris Ile-de-France tournament	Final	Champions
2006 World cup	Final	Runners-up
2007 Paris Ile-de-France tournament	Semi-final	Third place
2007 Yellow Cup	Final	Champions
2008 Challenge Marrane	Final	Champions
2008 Yellow Cup	Semi-final	Third place
2010 Yellow Cup	Semi-final	Third place
2012 Spain international tournament	Semi-final	Third place
2013 Paris Ile-de-France tournament	Semi-final	Third place
2015 Yellow Cup	Final	Champions
2015 Tunisia international tournament	Final	Champions
2015 Four Nations Tournament	Final	Runners-up
2016 Yellow Cup	Final	Champions
2017 Tunisia international tournament	Final	Champions
2019 Yellow Cup	Final	Champions
2019 Air Caraïbes Cup	Final	Runners-up
2020 Yellow Cup	Final	Runners-up
2021 Tunisia international tournament	Final	Champions
2021 Four Nations Cup Poland	Final	Champions
2022 Four Nations Cup Poland	Final	Champions

Team

Current squad

Squad for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship.

Head coach: Mohamed Sghir

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club 6 P Ghazi Ben Ghali (1999-03-28) 28 March 1999 1.98 m 31 29 Al-Gharafa 16 GK Mohamed Sfar (1990-01-04) 4 January 1990 1.94 m 44 0 Espérance de Tunis 17 RB Oussama Hosni (1992-09-17) 17 September 1992 1.92 m 130 162 RK Eurofarm Pelister 22 LB Youssef Maaraf (1996-07-21) 21 July 1996 1.95 m 100 185 Al Safa 23 LW Oussama Rmeiki (1996-10-08) 8 October 1996 1.92 m 42 67 Club Africain 25 CB Abdelhak Ben Salah (1990-04-25) 25 April 1990 1.84 m 84 170 Espérance de Tunis 28 LB Hazem Bacha (2001-12-08) 8 December 2001 2.05 m 33 66 Espérance de Tunis 29 RW Tarek Jallouz (1993-11-01) 1 November 1993 1.83 m 38 58 Espérance de Tunis 31 LB Mohamed Frad (1993-09-25) 25 September 1993 1.87 m 20 20 Kazma 33 RB Yassine Ben Salem (2003-01-11) 11 January 2003 1.92 m 13 24 C' Chartres Métropole Handball 39 CB Rayen Zariat (2003-01-11) 11 January 2003 1.90 m 15 12 Shabab Al Ahli Club 55 LW Ghassen Toumi (1997-06-14) 14 June 1997 1.84 m 70 159 Espérance de Tunis 61 GK Yassine Belkaied (2000-10-19) 19 October 2000 1.97 m 38 3 Fenix Toulouse Handball 72 P Mohamed Ben Hammouda (2002-12-07) 7 December 2002 1.92 m 7 5 Association Sportive d'Hammamet 93 GK Fradj Ben Tekaya (1998-04-29) 29 April 1998 1.91 m 5 0 BM Ciudad Encantada 96 RB Anouar Ben Abdallah (1996-06-20) 20 June 1996 1.86 m 80 167 Kazma 97 RB Achref Marghli (1997-05-22) 22 May 1997 1.93 m 18 21 RK Vardar 98 P Islem Jbeli (1998-12-13) 13 December 1998 1.93 m 39 72 Espérance de Tunis

Head coaches

Period	Head Coach	Honours
1957–1962	Yves Boulogne	—N/a
1962	Michel Djulizibaric	—N/a
1962–1966	Mohamed Louahchy	—N/a
1966–1968	Constantin Popa & Haralambie Firan	—N/a
1968–1972	Haralambie Firan	—N/a
1973–1975	Ion Popescu	1974
1976–1979	Saïd Amara	1976
1979–1982	Hachemi Razgallah	1979
1982–1983	Guennadi Antchenko	1981
1983–1985	Reiner Ganschow	1983 1985
1985–1987	Sayed Ayari	1987 1989
1987–1989	Moncef Hajjar	—N/a
1989–1990	Saïd Amara	—N/a
1990–1991	Lamjed Amroussi	1991
1991–1994	Hachemi Razgallah	1992
1994–1996	Sayed Ayari & Saïd Amara	1994 1996 1998
1996–1997	Saïd Amara	—N/a
1997	Brahim Agrebi	—N/a
1997–1998	Noureddine Ben Ameur	—N/a
1998–2003	Sayed Ayari & Saïd Amara	2000 2002
2003	Sayed Ayari	—N/a
2004	Zoran Živković	2004
2004–2008	Sead Hasanefendić	2006 2008
2008–2009	Zoran Živković	—N/a
2009	Sayed Ayari	—N/a
2009–2014	Alain Portes	2010 2012
2014–2015	Sead Hasanefendić	2014
2015–2016	Sylvain Nouet	2016
2016–2017	Hafedh Zouabi	—N/a
2017–2020	Toni Gerona	2018 2020
2020–2022	Sami Saïdi	—N/a
2022–	Patrick Cazal	2024

Notable players

Hamza Majed Makrem Missaoui Marouen Maggaiz Slim Zehani Makrem Jerou Mahmoud Gharbi Mohamed Messaoudi Mohamed Darmoul Marouan Chouiref Khaled Haj Youssef

Mosbah Sanaï Heykel Megannem Issam Tej Ali Madi Mohamed Madi Dhaker Seboui Sobhi Saïed Sobhi Sioud Wael Jallouz Tarak Jallouz

Ramzi Majdoub Wassim Helal Wissem Hmam Ouissem Bousnina Amine Bannour Anouar Ayed Anouar Ben Abdallah Oussama Boughanmi Oualid Ben Amor Oussama Jaziri

Oussama Hosni Jihed Jaballah Selim Hedoui Rafik Bacha Mahmoud Gharbi Jaleleddine Touati Aymen Hammed Aymen Toumi Kamel Alouini Youssef Benali

See also

• Tunisian Handball Federation
• Tunisia women's national handball team
• Tunisia men's national junior handball team
• Tunisia men's national youth handball team
• Tunisia women's national junior handball team
• Tunisia women's national youth handball team

Other handball codes

• Tunisia national beach handball team
• Tunisia women's national beach handball team

External links

• Official website
• IHF profile