Tunisia and Sao Tome & Principe will be commencing their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign in a crunchy encounter at the Stade Olympique Hammabi Agrebi on Friday evening.
The two nations will eye for a positive start of the qualifying round when they lock horns as they look forward to bounce back to winning ways.
Match Preview
In the October's international friendlies, the North African country suffered a 2-0 defeat to Japan in a friendly at the Noevir Stadium on October 17, 2023.
Tunisia went into half time trailing to Kyogo Furuhashi's 43rd-minute strike, before Junya Ito made sure of the result just past the midway point of the second half.
Coach Jalel Kadri's side will be expected by the fans to turn things around against the Sao Tome Principe, who are ranked 154 on the FIFA World Rankings to maintain their unbeaten home streak.
In the last 30 months, Tunisia have not been defeated by any country and Friday's game against Sao Tome & Principe has been described as a must-win match for the Carthage Eagles.
Sao Tome & Principe have been struggling in all qualifiers and they ended the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with humiliation when star-studded Nigerian side hit six past them at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on September 10.
Napoli lethal weapon Victor Osimhen netted a hat-trick to put Adriano Eusebio's men to the sword, with Ademola , Taiwo Awoniyi and Samuel Chukwueze also registered his name on the score sheet for the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
That was a third straight defeat for Selecao dos Falcoes e Papagaios, who are now winless in seven matches in a row across all competitions and they have shipped 25 goals across their last seven matches on the road.
Team News
Tunisia will be facing Sao Tome & Principe without Ali Maaloul and Hannibal Mejbri, both have been ruled out of the game with injuries.
Joazhifel Soares is set to record his 34th cap for the away side, and the 33-year-old continues to extend his lead at the top of the appearances chart for Sao Tome & Principe.
Kickoff Time
The match is scheduled for 19:00 GMT (7:00PM)
Prediction
Tunisia 4-0 Sao Tome & Principe
