The Tunisia national football team apologized for their early exit from the 2026 World Cup after two heavy losses to Sweden and Japan. Ali Maaloul, a player for the Tunisia national team, stated in an interview with beIN Sports that this poor performance in the World Cup was natural because the team was formed just days before the tournament. Maaloul described the decision to sack Sami Trabelsi as coach of Tunisia after their exit against Mali in the Africa Cup of Nations as a settling of scores. Maaloul compared Tunisia to Japan, saying that Japan has been a formed team for about 6 years, with the same players, and that Tunisia has changes in the team every tournament. Maaloul demanded that work be done to build a long-lasting Tunisia national team, emphasizing the need for real change, not just in player names. Anis Ben Slimane, another player for the Tunisia national team, pointed out that achieving positive results in a strong group like the one Tunisia was in requires every player to be in their best shape. Ben Slimane refused to describe the gap between Tunisia and their opponents as small, given the numbers that speak for themselves after Tunisia conceded 9 goals in two games. Ben Slimane acknowledged that the Tunisia national team did not prepare well for the 2026 World Cup, which led to their early exit. Tunisia suffered two heavy losses, 1-5 against Sweden and a four-goal loss to Japan, in the beginning of their World Cup 2026 campaign, leading to their early exit from the tournament. Ali Maaloul said that this early exit was a surprise to everyone, but they must learn from their mistakes and work to correct them. Maaloul added that the Tunisia national team needs time to recover from this early exit, but they must start working now to be ready for upcoming games.