Tunisia’s AFCON campaign in danger after Libya defeat, warns Chaabani

Tunisia’s hopes of reaching the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations have suffered a major setback after they were beaten 2-0 at home by Libya, with coach Moein Chaabani saying the team’s problems are rooted in its mentality rather than its choice of manager.

Libya secured a historic victory at the Stade Taieb Mhiri in Sfax on Friday in the third round of Group H qualifying. The result left Tunisia bottom of the group with two points from three matches, following two draws and one defeat.

Libya moved on to four points and went temporarily top, ahead of the meeting between Uganda and Botswana.

The two sides will meet again in Libya on 17 November in the fourth round of matches. Tunisia must respond quickly if they are to revive their qualification hopes, while Libya will look to build on a win that ended a long-standing record against their neighbours.

Chaabani blames mentality

Chaabani expressed his frustration during the post-match news conference and said the difficulties facing Tunisian football could not be solved simply by appointing a more prominent coach.

“When you go out and see how things are done in other countries, you realise that mentality is the most important thing in football,” he said.

“The current problem is a mentality problem. This team would not succeed even if you brought Guardiola in under the present circumstances and with the current mentality.”

The defeat was particularly damaging because it came on home soil, where Libya had never previously won against Tunisia. It was also Tunisia’s heaviest home defeat by goal difference in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.

They had never been two goals behind at home in a continental qualifier before, while the result ended a run of more than 25 years without losing a qualifying match by a two-goal margin. Their previous defeat by that score came on 24 March 2001, when Morocco beat them in Rabat.

Tunisia have also made the worst start in their qualifying history, failing to win any of their first three matches for the first time. They have collected just two points from a possible nine.

Tunisia’s record under threat

Libya’s victory was their first away win over Tunisia and gave them significant momentum before the return fixture.

For Tunisia, the result has placed their remarkable Africa Cup of Nations record under pressure. They have appeared at every finals tournament since the 1994 edition, which they hosted and where they lost the final to Nigeria. That run covers 17 successive tournaments and forms part of a total of 22 appearances in the finals.

Tunisia won the competition once, lifting the trophy on home soil in 2004.

Libya’s best performance remains reaching the final in 1982, when they were beaten by Ghana on penalties. Their latest victory gives them a chance to strengthen their position, while Tunisia face a decisive test on 17 November as they try to recover from a historic defeat.