Tunisia cancel Mali friendly amid Achouri row and growing squad tensions

Tunisia have cancelled their planned friendly against Mali after Elias Achouri left the national team camp following a reported dispute with manager Mouine Chaabani.

The decision came after a difficult international break for the Aigles de Carthage, who collected only two draws in their opening matches of the CAN 2027 qualifying campaign.

Several local media outlets reported that Achouri, who plays for San Diego, had a heated exchange with Chaabani after Tunisia’s 2-2 home draw with Botswana. The winger had started the match on the bench before coming on, but subsequently left the squad and was reportedly excluded by the coaching staff.

Achouri has also stopped following the Federation Tunisienne de Football (FTF) on Instagram.

The incident followed another disappointing result at home, with Tunisia held to a 1-1 draw by Uganda in Chaabani’s first match in charge. Their draw with Botswana then extended a poor start to the qualification campaign.

The dispute has drawn comparisons with the situation currently affecting Portugal. A few hours earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo had also left his national team camp in controversial circumstances after a disagreement with Jorge Jesus.

Ronaldo had remained on the bench against Norway before announcing his departure on Wednesday, following a press conference held by his manager. The Portugal captain said he would later reveal “the truth” about his decision.

Achouri’s departure added to a growing list of Tunisia absentees before the proposed meeting with Mali. Ghram, Kadida, Nasraoui and Ben Hassen were unavailable because of injury, while Neffati and Laidouni were ill.

Gharbi had already been given permission to return to his club after the competitive fixtures.

With Achouri no longer involved, Tunisia were without eight players in total. Reports in the Tunisian media have also described an increasingly tense relationship between Chaabani and part of his dressing room.

The FTF said the friendly at Rades, scheduled for Saturday, had been cancelled after discussions with the coaching staff and the Federation Malienne de Football.

However, Reuters reported that the absences were not the only factor behind the decision. The possibility of another defeat, which could have caused Tunisia to fall further in the FIFA rankings, also influenced the choice to call off the match.

The federation therefore opted to avoid the fixture with the squad weakened, results disappointing and tensions reportedly growing within the team.

The latest problems add to a difficult period for Tunisian football and give greater significance to concerns raised by Hannibal Mejbri about the state of the national side following the last CAN.