Tunisia captain Sassi dropped for WC

Tunisia left out captain Ferjani Sassi and key defender Yassine Meriah as new coach Sabri Lamouchi made expected changes on Friday when he named his ​squad for next month’s World Cup.

Sassi, who has played 101 times for Tunisia, ‌and Meriah, five caps away from a century of appearances for the North Africans, were both dropped from the squad.

Lamouchi, who was appointed coach in January after Sami Trabelsi was dismissed following ​Tunisia's exit from the Cup of Nations in the last 16, overhauled the ​squad for his first two matches in March.

At the time Lamouchi, ⁠who has had spells at Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City, did not reveal whether ​he was using the friendlies against Haiti and Canada to look at alternative options or ​whether he was seeking to build a new-look side.

Friday’s squad announcement suggests a mix as there were surprise call-ups for 21-year-old Khalil Ayari and teenager Rayan Elloumi.

Ayari has been signed by Paris Saint ​Germain but has yet to make the first team squad, while Elloumi has made ​only two starts in Major League Soccer with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Canadian-born Elloumi, 18, played earlier this ‌year for ⁠the World Cup co-hosts in a friendly against Guatemala.

The Tunisia squad also includes 32-year-old midfielder Rani Khedira, whose brother Sami was a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014. Khedira had previously rejected overtures from Tunisia to play for them but in March ​switched his footballing nationality ​and debuted for ⁠the north Africans.

Tunisia compete at a seventh World Cup and are in Group F with Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Sabri ​Ben Hessen (Etoile Sahel), Abdelmouhib Chamakh (Club Africain), Aymen Dahman (CS Sfaxien)

Defenders: Ali Abdi (Nice), ​Adem Arous (Kasimpasa), ⁠Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida (Esperance), Dylan Bronn (Servette Geneva), Raed Chikhaoui (US Monastir), Moutaz Neffati (Norrkoping), Omar Rekik (NK Maribor), Montassar Talbi (Lorient), Yan Valery (Young Boys Berne)

Midfielders: Mortadha Ben Ouanes (Kasimpasa), Anis Ben Slimane (Norwich City), Ismael Gharbi (FC ⁠Augsburg), ​Rani Khedira (Union Berlin), Mohamed Hadj Mahmoud (Lugano), Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley), Ellyes ​Skhiri (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Forwards: Elias Achouri (FC Copenhagen), Khalil Ayari (Paris St Germain), Firas Chaouat (Club Africain), Rayan Elloumi (Vancouver Whitecaps), Hazem Mastouri (Dynamo Makhachkala), ​Elias Saad (Hannover 96), Sebastian Tounekti (Celtic).