18-year-old Vancouver Whitecaps FC striker Rayan Elloumi's last year has been one for the ages.
Starting 2025 as a Whitecaps Academy player, he starred with Whitecaps FC 2 in MLS NEXT Pro with 11 goals and 7 assists in just 18 appearances. He was quickly rewarded with a professional contract with WFC2 in June and impressed enough to ink a first-team Homegrown contract in September. On the field, he was trusted with Audi MLS Cup Playoff minutes en route to Vancouver's 2025 MLS Cup Final showdown with Inter Miami.
And as of Friday, he's going to the 2026 FIFA World Cup after being named to Tunisia's squad by head coach Sabri Lamouchi for the summer spectacle.
Tunisia 2026 World Cup roster by position
Goalkeepers (3):
- Aymen Dahmen, CS Sfaxien
- Sabri Ben Hassan, Étoile du Sahel
- Abdelmouhib Chamakh, Club Africain
Defenders (9):
- Montassar Talbi, Lorient
- Dylan Bronn, Servette
- Omar Rekik, Maribor
- Adem Arous, Kasımpaşa
- Yan Valery, Young Boys
- Moutaz Neffati, IFK Norrköping
- Raed Chikhaoui, US Monastir
- Ali Abdi, OGC Nice
- Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida, Espérance de Tunis
Midfielders (7):
- Ellyes Skhiri, Eintracht Frankfurt
- Mohamed Hadj-Mahmoud, FC Lugano
- Rani Khedira, Union Berlin
- Hannibal Mejbri, Burnley
- Anis Ben Slimane, Norwich City
- Mortadha Ben Ouanes, Kasımpaşa
- Ismaël Gharbi, FC Augsburg
Forwards (7):
- Khalil Ayari, Paris Saint-Germain
- Sebastian Tounekti, Celtic
- Elias Achouri, Copenhagen
- Firas Chaouat, Club Africain
- Hazem Mastouri, Dynamo Makhachkala
- Elias Saad, Hannover 96
- Rayan Elloumi, Vancouver Whitecaps
Group stage
The Eagles of Carthage qualified for the World Cup as winners in their group in the African Confederation tournament. This summer, they'll play out of Group F against Sweden, Japan, and the Netherlands. They square off with Sweden for their opener on June 14 in Monterrey, Mexico.
