Norwich City midfielder Anis Ben Slimane is set to star at this summer's World Cup after being named in Sabri Lamouchi's 26-man Tunisia squad. The Tunisian Football Federation announced the 25-year-old as part of Lamouchi's final selection on Friday afternoon ahead of next month's tournament in North America.
Tunisia's World Cup Group Stage Matches
Slimane and his Tunisia teammates will begin their World Cup campaign against Sweden at Monterrey Stadium in Mexico on June 15 before facing Japan at the same venue on June 21. They will then round off the group stage against the Netherlands at Kansas City Stadium in the United States on June 26.
Slimane's Journey and Recent Form
This marks Slimane's second appearance at a World Cup finals, having also made the cut for the 2022 tournament in Qatar during his time at Brøndby. He made two appearances during the group stage on that occasion, first playing 83 minutes in the opening 1-0 win over France before featuring for 67 minutes in a goalless draw against Denmark.
Despite taking four points from their three group-stage games, the African nation was knocked out after finishing third behind France and Australia. Now the country is preparing for their seventh World Cup, with the aim of reaching the knockout stages for the first time in their history, and Slimane will hope to play a key role after enjoying a revival under Philippe Clement.
Having fallen out of favour under Liam Manning and initially been handed only limited opportunities by Clement, many expected the Tunisian to leave Carrow Road. But his starring role in the 5-1 FA Cup third-round victory over Walsall proved a turning point after he provided two assists. A purple patch soon followed, with Slimane scoring in three successive league games against Wrexham, West Bromwich Albion, and Coventry City.
The midfielder ended the season with 11 goal contributions in 26 appearances across all competitions, with his form during the second half of the campaign earning him a recall to the national team during the March international break, having not featured in the squad since June 2025.
Slimane outlined his goal of reaching the World Cup in an interview with the Canaries official matchday programme back in December. "My motivation was to get back fit and ready for the minutes I'm going to get, and also, I know there is a World Cup coming up in the summer; that is something that I really want to be part of. To do that I have to perform for the club," he said.
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