New head coach Sabri Lamouchi announced Tunisia’s World Cup squad on Friday, and he has made some huge calls after opting to omit captain Ferjani Sassi and key defender Yassine Meriah.
The decision signals a bold new direction for the North African side.
Sassi, with 101 caps, and Meriah, who is five short of a century, were both dropped and are now set to miss this summer’s tournament.
Lamouchi, who was appointed in January after Sami Trabelsi’s dismissal following Tunisia’s Cup of Nations last-16 exit, had already overhauled the squad for his first two matches in March.
The former Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City manager did not then reveal if March’s friendlies were for alternative options or to build a new-look side.
Friday’s squad suggests a mix of youth and experience, with surprise call-ups for 21-year-old Khalil Ayari and teenager Rayan Elloumi.
Ayari, signed by Paris St Germain, is yet to make their first team, while Elloumi has only two MLS starts for Vancouver Whitecaps. Canadian-born Elloumi, 18, played for the World Cup co-hosts in a friendly against Guatemala earlier this year.
The squad also includes 32-year-old midfielder Rani Khedira, brother of 2014 World Cup winner Sami Khedira. Khedira had previously rejected Tunisia but switched his footballing nationality in March, debuting for the North Africans.
Tunisia are set to compete at a seventh World Cup, and have been placed in Group F with Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands. They will face Sweden first on 14 June.
Tunisia squad in full:
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).
