Tunisia head coach Sabri Lamouchi was sacked following his side’s 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening match on Sunday. The Tunisian Football Federation parted ways with Lamouchi before the team’s second group-stage match against Japan next Sunday, in what would be an unprecedented move during the tournament. The Federation have also declared the appointment of former Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard until the end of the tournament. Tunisia will face Japan and then Netherlands in the last match of the group stage at the 2026 World Cup.Their debut game at the 2026 World Cup was a big setback, as it was heavily impacted by individual mistakes, starting from the opening goal scored seven minutes into the game by Yasin Ayari, who is of Tunisian descent by his father. At the 72nd minute, Sheffield Wednesday defender Yan Valery was replaced by Lamouchi and the player showed visible frustration against the head coach, raising questions regarding the dressing room. Lamouchi was appointed in January and his position was already in danger before the start of the tournament after a 5-0 defeat against Belgium in the pre-tournament friendly game. According to reports, the presence of his son at Tunisia’s training camp during the team’s World Cup preparations raised concerns within the soccer federation, with officials reportedly questioning why he was granted access despite not being an official member of the delegation, asking Lamouchi to explain the circumstances of his decisions.The former France international also faced criticism for several controversial calls ahead of the tournament, most notably leaving out experienced players such as Ferjani Sassi and Yassine Meriah, who have more than 200 international caps between them. Lamouchi instead chose to change the squad following Tunisia’s disappointing AFCON 2025 campaign earlier this year, opting for a new-look team at the World Cup.
Who is Herve Renard? Renard is considered an experienced profile of coach after he led Morocco at the 2018 World Cup and most notably Saudi Arabia in 2022, winning against Argentina in the opening match of the tournament later won by the side coached by Lionel Scaloni. He also managed France at the Women’s World Cup in 2023 before coming back to Saudi Arabia and later parting ways before the current World Cup.Only a few months ago, it seemed almost certain he couldn’t be part of this World Cup as things got more tense with the Saudi federation after he was dismissed in April less than two months before the kick off of the tournament and was replaced by former Greece international Georgios Donis. Renard was in charge of the Saudi Arabian national team for three years and led them at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, leading the team to an exciting win against Argentina at their tournament debut in the group stage before failing to qualify for the knockout stages.
His first cycle ended in 2023 when he joined the French women’s national team and later reached the quarterfinals of the tournament, eliminated by Australia. He went back to Saudi Arabia to replace his successor, former Italy coach Roberto Mancini, helping them to qualify again or the World Cup. Renard is now set to guide Tunisia at his third World Cup, after the one in 2018 with Morocco and the one of 2022 with Saudi Arabia. Before that, he won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) twice, with Zambia in 2012 and with Ivory Coast in 2015, making him one of the most successful coaches in the history of African soccer.
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