Bouazizi is out

There is also a recall for Mehdi Nafti, who played under Henri Michel at the Nations Cup finals in Mali but was ignored for the trip to the World Cup in June.

Major worries

Lemerre told journalists of his early preparation plans for the Nations Cup finals, including a confirmed friendly against Sweden in Tunis in February and a possible fixture against China in January.

He also said he would seek to persuade David Jemmali to play.

The Bordeaux defender was born in France to Tunisian parents but has so far shunned invitations to play for the north African country.

Lemerre warned that the lack of competitive matches for Tunisia was a major concern.

"There is a big difference between an official game and a friendly," he said.

"There is not the same kind of motivation. That is fundamental for a player. Aime Jacquet told me how difficult it would be to prepare for the World Cup without having to qualify first and he was right."

Lemerre was fired as coach of France after their dismal first round exit at the World Cup finals.

He had been coach since 1998, taking over from Jacquet after France won the World Cup on home soil.

Tunisia Squad:
Goalkeepers: Khaled Azaiez (Club Africain), Hassen Bejaoui (Stade Tunisien), Ali Boumnijel (Bastia, France)
Defenders: Wissem Abdi (CS Sfaxien), Khaled Badra, Moyin Chaabani (both Esperance), Anis Boujelbene (CS Sfaxien), Hamdi Marzouki (Stade Tunisien), Mohamed Mkacher (Etoile Sahel), Ramzi Toujani (CS Sfaxien), Hatem Trabelsi (Ajax Amsterdam, Netherlands), Kais Zouaghi (Etoile Sahel)
Midfielders: Slim Benachour (Paris St Germain, France), Anis Boussaidi (Stade Tunisien), Maher Kanzari, Mourad Melki, Jaohar Mnari (all Esperance), Mehdi Nafti (Racing Santander, Spain), Oussama Sellami, Mohamed Selliti (both Stade Tunisien)
Strikers: Imed Ben Younes (CS Sfaxien), Ziad Jaziri (Etoile Sahel), Ali Zitouni (Esperance)