Sami Trabelsi reveals Tunisia roster for Basque Country and Catalonia friendlies

The Tunisian coach has called up 25 players for friendlies in Spain but has yet to settle on a final roster for the Africa Cup of Nations

At a press conference in Tunis today, Tunisian national team coach Sami Trabelsi revealed a 25-man squad that will travel to Spain for friendlies against Basque Country on December 28 and Catalonia on December 30.

Karim Haggui, Ammar Jemal, Sami Allagui, and Houcine Ragued are missing from the list due to their clubs’ refusal to release them at this delicate juncture in their respective seasons. The German-based players’ sides were concerned about the possibility of injury given the high number of games each of their Tunisian representatives have played without rest while Ragued’s Turkish team insists they need him for upcoming league matches.

One player benefitting from these absences is Club Africain centre-back Mohamed Ali Yaakoubi who has received his first call-up to the senior national team. Meanwhile, returning to the group after an injury lay-off is starting goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi.

Trabelsi also announced that the Carthage Eagles were to play two more friendlies during a training camp in Dubai, one against Sudan on January 9 and another against Cote D’Ivoire on January 13. If for whatever reason the plans fell through, there are secondary plans for matches in Tunisia against Libya and Uganda on the same dates.