The Tunisian Football Federation has fired head coach Sabri Lamouchi following the team’s crushing 5-1 defeat against Sweden in their opening World Cup match. The federation moved quickly to replace him on Tuesday, appointing experienced French manager Herve Renard to take over the team immediately.
Lamouchi, a 54-year-old former France international who previously managed the Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup, had only been in charge of Tunisia since January. His brief tenure came to an abrupt end after Sunday’s heavy loss, which leaves Tunisia facing a massive uphill battle to finish in the top two of their group and qualify for the round of 32.
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Things will not get any easier for the North African side, as their remaining Group F fixtures are against Japan on Saturday and the Netherlands on June 25.
Renard’s short-term contract runs only until the end of the World Cup. The Tunisian federation stated that discussions regarding a longer-term agreement will take place after the tournament concludes.
Renard is highly regarded in international football and brings a wealth of experience, particularly within African and Arab football. He remains the only manager to win the Africa Cup of Nations with two different countries, lifting the trophy with Zambia in 2012 and the Ivory Coast in 2015.
He also has significant World Cup experience, having coached Morocco at the 2018 tournament and Saudi Arabia at the 2022 edition, where his team pulled off a famous group-stage upset against eventual champions Argentina.
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He later managed the French national team at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Renard’s most recent role was a second stint with the Saudi Arabia men’s team, which ended in April when he was replaced by Georgios Donis.
Mid-tournament managerial changes are rare at the World Cup but this is not the first time Tunisia has taken such drastic action.
At the 1998 World Cup in France, the federation fired coach Henryk Kasperczak after consecutive group-stage losses to England and Colombia, which eliminated the team before their final match against Romania.
A similar high-profile coaching crisis occurred just before the 2018 World Cup when Spain sacked Julen Lopetegui two days before their opening match against Portugal after it was revealed he had agreed to take over at Real Madrid after the tournament.
Tunisia is currently making its seventh appearance at a World Cup but they have never progressed past the group stage.
