The first international break of the year will see Liberia take on Tunisia at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex this Wednesday in the fifth round of the CAF 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The Lone Stars sit third in Group H with seven points from two wins, one draw and a defeat, while the visitors lead the table with 10 points, having secured three victories and one stalemate.
Match preview
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Liberia enter this midweek clash with renewed optimism, looking to pick up where they left off and build momentum following a forgettable African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
The World Cup qualifiers had been put on hold to accommodate the AFCON preliminaries, a competition where the Lone Stars finished at the foot of the standings, confirming their absence from the tournament in Morocco.
Benefitting from a FIFA ruling against Equatorial Guinea, Liberia have experienced an upturn in their fortunes on the road to the global tournament.
After opening their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Malawi, the Lone Stars fell by the same margin to Equatorial Guinea, but FIFA overturned that result with a 3-0 ruling in their favour after the Central African nation fielded an ineligible player.
Liberia then secured a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Namibia before edging Sao Tome & Principe 1-0, injecting fresh hope into their dream of a maiden World Cup appearance.
With this break featuring a double-header, the 145th-ranked Lone Stars face a daunting challenge against a Tunisian side sitting 93 places above them in the latest FIFA World Rankings before turning their attention to Group H's bottom side, Sao Tome.
Presented with a direct opportunity to draw level with the group leaders, Liberia can take inspiration from their only previous home meeting with Tunisia — a 1-0 victory in the 2015 AFCON qualifiers.
The visitors, meanwhile, having already secured their spot in Morocco 2025 after finishing second in Group A, aim to maintain their dominance in the World Cup qualifiers under a new head coach.
Sami Trabelsi, reappointed on February 10 for a second spell after previously leading the team from 2011 to 2013, is tasked with extending their strong start.
Before the qualifiers paused in June, the Eagles of Carthage had cruised past Sao Tome 4-0 and claimed successive 1-0 victories over Malawi and Equatorial Guinea, though their last outing ended in a goalless draw with Namibia.
Tunisia have not lost any of their recent competitive matches on the road, winning three and drawing three, and they will look to extend this streak on Wednesday as they seek to tighten their grip at the summit of Group H.
Team News
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Liberia's interim head coach, Thomas Kojo, has named a 24-man squad for this crucial double-header, comprising 13 foreign-based and 11 local-based 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 in line for their senior national team debuts.
Making a return after nearly five years is Augustine Otis, rewarded for his prolific form with Egyptian club Tersana SC, where he has netted 11 goals this season.
However, Liberia will be without key figures such as Mo Sangare, Emmanuel Ernest and Brem Soumaoro, while first-choice goalkeeper Mohamed Kamara has withdrawn for personal reasons.
Tunisia head coach Trabelsi has also made notable changes in his first squad selection, with four fresh inclusions: goalkeepers Sami Helal and Abdessalem Hlaoui, centre-back Hamza Ben Abda and defender Houssem Ben Romdhane.
Meanwhile, Firas Chaouat receives a long-awaited recall after four years away, while Anis Slimane and Naim Sliti return following their involvement in the last CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
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
We say: Liberia 1-1 Tunisia
Tunisia enter this clash as the stronger side based on their campaign so far, but with Liberia drawing confidence from home support, a tight, low-scoring contest could be on the cards.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adeyeye Oluwapelumi
