Rani Khedira, the midfielder for 1. FC Union Berlin, will participate in the football World Cup with Tunisia. This was announced after he completed his federation switch from Germany to Tunisia. Khedira is one of three Bundesliga professionals in the 26-man squad of coach Sabri Lamouchi, alongside Ismael Gharbi from FC Augsburg and Ellyes Skhiri from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Stuttgart-born Khedira, whose father is Tunisian, made his international debut for Tunisia at the end of March. Previously, he had played 13 youth international matches for Germany. “I was born and raised in Germany. I only speak German,” Khedira explained when he initially rejected a federation switch in 2018.
Before the 2022 World Cup, Khedira was included in the extended perspective squad of then national coach Hansi Flick. In the group stage of the World Cup, Tunisia will face Japan, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Additionally, Michael Hefele will support the team as a German assistant coach.
