Tunisia midfielder Hannibal Mejbri has delivered a brutally honest assessment of the state of football in the country following their elimination from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
The Carthage painfully exited the continental showpiece, being held in Morocco after falling short to Mali on penalties on Saturday, January 3, 2026 in the round of 16 clash.
Tunisia had snatched a late lead in the 88th minute at the Mohammed V Stadium, but Mali staged a strong comeback to restore parity, forcing a penalty shootouts in the high-stake clash.
Despite playing with a numerical advantage for large periods of the match, the Carthage Eagles failed to book a place in the quarterfinals, with Mali edging Tunisia 3-2 on penalties after a fiercely contested 1–1 draw across regulation and extra time.
However, the enterprising midfielder has expressed his displeasure about his outfit’s elimination from the tournament, claiming Tunisia football is 10-years behind.
“I will say it now, we are 10 years behind in football. We have to sit down and ask ourselves how we got to this point. We have to re-educate and train in everything, learn again from the beginning from the very first jobs in football. Football in Tunisia has fallen behind a lot, especially when you compare us to countries like Morocco.” He said.
The 22-year-old, who plies his trade for Premier League outfit Burnley has made 43 appearances for the Tunisia national team, scoring one goal across the period.
