The Tunisian Football Federation has successfully secured the agreement of Rani Khedira, the younger brother of Sami Khedira, to represent Tunisia instead of Germany for the remainder of his career.
The Tunisian Federation worked on this matter for the past few months and submitted a formal request to FIFA to change the player’s sporting nationality. FIFA granted the request on Thursday, and the decision was officially announced.
The decision included three main points: formal acceptance of the request, immediate eligibility for the player to represent the Tunisian national team, and notification of the relevant federations.
Rani Khedira, 32, is a product of VfB Stuttgart’s youth academy, just like his brother Sami, who won the Bundesliga title with the Swabian club early in his career.
Unlike his brother, Khedira’s career has been exclusively in Germany, where he played for RB Leipzig, Augsburg, and currently Union Berlin.
Khedira plays in midfield and can also be deployed as a central defender, making him a valuable addition to Tunisia’s squad for the 2026 World Cup.
It’s worth noting that the World Cup draw placed Tunisia in a group with the Netherlands, Japan, and a third team from the European playoffs.
