As the world prepares for FIFA World Cup 2026, the spotlight often falls on superstars and big-money transfers. This special feature series goes deeper – telling the human stories behind the players who refused to quit.

From struggles and adversities, to chaotic youth careers and identity-defining choices, these athletes turned struggle into fuel. Each journey proves that the World Cup is not only a stage for talent, but a celebration of unbreakable resilience, sacrifice, and quiet determination. In a tournament full of stars, these are the hearts that beat the loudest. Welcome to their stories.

When Tunisia coach Jalel Kadri named the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on May 15, few stories captured the moment like that of 28-year-old striker Hazem Mastouri.

Listed alongside established forwards, Mastouri’s presence on the roster is not just a football milestone – it is living proof that perseverance can rewrite a career on the edge of collapse.

Hazem Mastouri: Who almost became a Firefighter

Born in Tunis on 18 June 1997, Mastouri spent his early twenties trapped in football’s lower depths. In 2019, he was playing amateur third-tier football with Degueche FC. A year later he was at second-tier LPS Tozeur. By 2021, he was at ES Métlaoui, battling relegation in the Tunisian top flight. And after some uneventful seasons, Hazem was struggling.

The dream was slipping away. Frustrated by constant instability, meagre wages and repeated setbacks, the young striker seriously considered quitting professional football altogether to train as a firefighter – a stable, respectable job that promised security his uncertain career could not.

Instead of walking away, Mastouri doubled down. In 2023, he took a low-profile move to Iraq’s Al-Najaf SC. It was a humble reset, far from the spotlight. Then, in August 2024, came the turning point: a transfer to US Monastir.

Suddenly unleashed, Mastouri delivered a sensational season, scoring 16 league goals in 27 appearances and adding more in cup and continental matches. His clinical finishing and work rate earned him a first senior call-up to the Tunisia national team in 2024.

Hazem Mastouri – International Career

Hazem made his Tunisia debut in an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar. He scored his first goal against Liberia in 2025 in a World Cup qualifier, and the best moment of his international career came in November last year, when he netted Tunisia’s goal in a 1-1 draw against Brazil.

Appearance: 12
Goals: 4

In August 2025, Dynamo Makhachkala paid around €350,000 to bring the Tunisian to Russia’s Premier League. The move symbolised how far he had come – from near-retirement to competing against top European-standard sides.

Today, Mastouri stands on the biggest stage of all. Selected for Tunisia’s seventh World Cup appearance, the former firefighter hopeful embodies the squad’s fighting spirit.

His story is no longer one of struggle; it is one of triumph. In an era of instant success and big-money academies, Mastouri reminds every young player that talent alone is never enough – heart and refusal to quit are what carry you to the World Cup.

Tunisia World Cup 2026 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 Saint-Germain), Firas Chaouat (Club Africain), Rayan Elloumi (Vancouver Whitecaps), Hazem Mastouri (Dynamo Makhachkala), Elias Saad (Hannover 96), Sebastian Tounekti (Celtic)