In his “second home”, Sead Hasanefendic is a legend – as the Bosnian is the father of the biggest success in the Tunisian history of handball. At the WCh on home soil in 2005, he sensationally led the North Africans to the semi-finals and finished 4th in the end. This success made Hasanefendic interesting for other teams, but when he – after several positions at, amongst others, German clubs – was back on the market, the Tunisian federation took its chance. The Bosnian is now once again responsible for a team which gained international reputation in the last years – especially when Tunisia won against Germany in the preliminary round at the 2013 WCh in Spain. Even though great players such as Wissem Hmam or Heykel Mgannem (flag bearer of Tunisia in London) ended their careers, the team is competitive, which was demonstrated at the 2013 WCh when they reached the eighth-finals. However, in January they missed the triple on continental level, after winning the African Championship in 2010 and 2012 – they lost the final in Algiers against host country Algeria with a score of 21:25. The stars of the team are, along with the experienced pivot Issem Tej, the back-court players Amine Bannour and Wael Jallouz, who, as first African, signed a contract with Champions League winner THW Kiel (Germany). In Qatar, the minimum goal is to reach the eighth-finals again.

World Championship campaigns: 1967: 15., 1995: 15., 1997: 16., 1999: 12., 2001: 10., 2003: 14., 2005: 4., 2007: 11., 2009: 17., 2011: 20., 2013: 11.

Olympic campaigns: 1972: 10., 2000: 10., 2012: 8.

African Championship campaigns: 1974: GOLD, 1976: GOLD, 1979: GOLD, 1981: BRONZE, 1983: BRONZE, 1985: BRONZE, 1987: BRONZE, 1989: BRONZE, 1991: BRONZE, 1992: SILVER, 1994: GOLD, 1996: BRONZE, 1998: GOLD, 2000: BRONZE, 2002: GOLD, 2004: SILVER, 2006: GOLD, 2008: SILVER, 2010: GOLD, 2012: GOLD, 2014: SILVER

Qualification for Qatar: Silver medallist at African Championship

Coach: Sead Hasanefendic

Key players: Amine Bannour, Wael Jallouz