The 5 Top Goal Scorers For Tunisia Football Team All-Time: Tunisia is really good at soccer in Africa. They won the African Cup of Nations once and came in second four times. It has been in the FIFA World Cup six times and made it to the semi-finals in 1978.
Tunisia had amazing soccer players over the years. These players scored a lot of goals for Tunisia, helping the team do well in Africa and around the world.
Tunisian’ve been in the World Cup six times and in the African Cup of Nations finals 20 times. They won the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 2004. In 2005, they played in the Confederations Cup in Germany. In April 2018, they were ranked 14th in the world, their best ranking ever.
The 5 Top Goal Scorers For Tunisia Football Team All-Time
In this article, we will talk about the top goal scorers for the Tunisia soccer team of all time.
1. Issam Jemâa
- Career Span: 2005–2014
- Matches: 84
- Goals: 36
- Average: 0.43
Issam Jemâa is Tunisia’s top goal scorer with 36 goals. He began his career playing for Espérance Sportive de Tunis and was later signed by the French team Lens.
Jemâa played his first match for the Tunisian national team in May 2005 during a friendly game against Angola. In 2006, he was picked for Tunisia’s World Cup team, but he got injured before the first match and was replaced by Chaouki Ben Saada.
2. Wahbi Khazri
- Career Span: 2013–2022
- Matches: 74
- Goals: 25
- Average: 0.34
Wahbi Khazri is the second-highest goal scorer for the Tunisia soccer team, with 25 goals. He was first called up to play for Tunisia in 2012 under coach Sami Trabelsi. He played in the 2013 African Cup of Nations, where Tunisia was eliminated in the group stage. In the 2015 African Cup, Tunisia lost 2-1 to Equatorial Guinea in the quarterfinals. Khazri also played in the 2017 African Championship, scoring his first goal in a 4-2 win against Zimbabwe. However, Tunisia lost in the quarterfinals against Burkina Faso, with a score of 0-2.
Khazri was the team captain in the 2018 World Cup, where Tunisia qualified. He scored his first World Cup goal in a match against Belgium, even though Tunisia lost 2-5. He also scored a goal in the last group game against Panama, securing a 2-1 win. This victory was Tunisia’s second in World Cup history, the first one being in 1978.
3. Francileudo Santos
- Career Span: 2004–2008
- Matches: 41
- Goals: 22
- Average: 0.51
Francileudo Santos is the third-highest goal scorer for the Tunisia soccer team. The Tunisian Football Association suggested that Santos become a citizen of Tunisia in the early 2000s. Initially, he wanted to play for Brazil, but when other well-known players like Júlio Baptista, Robinho, and Fred were chosen for the Brazilian team instead of him, he decided to become a Tunisian citizen at the end of 2003.
Santos made his debut for the Tunisian national team in 2004 in a match against Benin. He became very popular in Tunisia, and there were high expectations from him during the 2006 World Cup. Unfortunately, he couldn’t play in the tournament due to a knee injury.
4. Adel Sellimi
- Career Span: 1990–2002
- Matches: 80
- Goals: 20
- Average: 0.25
Adel Sellimi is the fourth-highest goal scorer for the Tunisia soccer team. He made his debut for the Tunisian national team in October 1992 in a World Cup qualifier against Benin, and Tunisia won 5-1. A little over a year later, he played with his brother Samir at the 1994 African Championships.
Sellimi had a great performance at the 1996 African Cup, where he scored two goals and helped Tunisia reach the final (although they lost 0-2 to South Africa). His performance in that tournament led to his move to Nantes. However, he truly regained his top form after joining Real Jaén, which also secured his spot in the 1998 World Cup. Sellimi played in all three of Tunisia’s games but didn’t score a goal, and the team was eliminated after the group stage.
Sellimi decided not to participate in the 2002 African Championships due to SC Freiburg’s request, and he was initially banned from the national team. However, he was included in Tunisia’s squad for the 2002 World Cup. Unfortunately, Tunisia once again didn’t advance past the group stage. Sellimi made two appearances, one as a starter and one as a substitute, during the tournament. Shortly after, he retired from the national team.
5. Youssef Msakni
- Career Span: 2010–present
- Matches: 93
- Goals: 20
- Average: 0.22
Youssef Msakni is the fifth-highest goal scorer for the Tunisia soccer team. He received his first call-up to the national team on 14 December 2009, under coach Faouzi Benzarti, for a friendly match against Gambia to prepare for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
He made his debut on 9 January 2010 at Stade El Menzah, entering the field in the 35th minute due to Oussama Darragi’s injury. On 25 February 2011, Msakni helped Tunisia win the CHAN (African Nations Championship) with a 3–0 victory over Angola. He scored a goal in this competition, this time against Angola but in the group stage.
In the 2018 World Cup qualifiers on 7 October 2017, Msakni impressed by scoring a hat-trick against Guinea.
