World Cup Qualifying - Africa | Group Stage

Mar 19, 2025 at 4pm UK

Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex

Liberia vs Tunisia

Match preview

Liberia go into this midweek clash with renewed optimism, looking to pick up where they left off and regain momentum after a forgettable Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

The World Cup qualifiers were put on hold to accommodate the AFCON preliminaries, a competition in which the Lone Stars finished bottom of the standings, confirming their absence from the tournament in Morocco.

Liberia's fortunes have taken a turn for the better following a FIFA decision against Equatorial Guinea.

After opening their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Malawi, the Lone Stars lost by the same scoreline to Equatorial Guinea, but FIFA overturned the result with a 3-0 decision in their favour after the Central Africans fielded an ineligible player.

Liberia then held Namibia to a hard-fought 1-1 draw before beating Sao Tome and Principe 1-0 to breathe new life into their dream of a first World Cup appearance.

The Lone Stars, ranked 145th in the FIFA World Ranking, will use this double-header break to take on a Tunisia side 93 places above them in the latest FIFA World Ranking before turning their attention to the bottom of Group H, Sao Tome.

With an immediate opportunity to level the group leaders, Liberia can draw inspiration from their only previous home meeting with Tunisia - a 1-0 victory in the 2015 AFCON qualifiers.

The visitors, meanwhile, have already booked their place at Morocco 2025 after finishing second in Group A and will be looking to maintain their dominance of the World Cup qualifiers under a new head coach.

Sami Trabelsi, who was reappointed for a second spell on 10 February after leading the team from 2011 to 2013, has been tasked with building on their strong start to the campaign.

The Eagles of Carthage had beaten Sao Tome 4-0 before qualifying was suspended in June, followed by 1-0 wins over Malawi and Equatorial Guinea, although their last outing ended in a goalless draw with Namibia.

Tunisia have not lost any of their recent away matches, winning three and drawing three, and will be looking to extend that run on Wednesday as they look to tighten their grip at the top of Group H.

Recent Performance

Liberia World Cup Qualifying - Africa form:DW

Liberia form (all competitions):DLLLWL

Tunisia World Cup Qualifying - Africa form:WD

Tunisia form (all competitions):WWLDWL

Team News

Liberia's interim head coach Thomas Kojo has named a 24-man squad for the crucial double-header, comprising 13 foreign and 11 local players, with all three goalkeepers coming from the domestic league.

Among the new faces are Solomon Tweh, Bryant Farkarlun, Nicholas Andrews, Josiah Cea, Jeygbey Konneh and Bryan Farkarlun, all of whom will be making their senior international debuts.

Returning after almost five years is Augustine Otis, who has been rewarded for his prolific form with Egyptian club Tersana SC, where he has scored 11 goals this season.

However, Liberia will be without key players such as Mo Sangare, Emmanuel Ernest and Brem Soumaoro, while first-choice goalkeeper Mohamed Kamara has withdrawn for personal reasons.

Tunisia coach Trabelsi has also made significant changes to his first-team squad, bringing in four new faces: goalkeepers Sami Helal and Abdessalem Hlaoui, centre-back Hamza Ben Abda and defender Houssem Ben Romdhane.

Meanwhile, Firas Chaouat gets a long-awaited recall after a four-year absence, while Anis Slimane and Naim Sliti return after playing for Côte d'Ivoire at the last CAF Africa Cup of Nations.

Possible starting lineup

Liberia possible starting lineup:

Koulibaly; Teclar, Dweh, Balde, Pabai; Teah; Salmon; Otis, Dorley, Sesay; Gibson

Tunisia possible starting lineup:

Dahmen; Ghorbel, Bronn, Abda, Abdi; Romdhane; Ltaief, Sliti; Laidouni; Mastouri, Chaouat