Tunisia sacks coach Lamouchi after 1-5 World Cup loss to Sweden

Tunisia's national football team suffered a 1‑5 defeat to Sweden in its opening group match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Monterrey, Mexico. In response, the Tunisian Football Federation announced the immediate termination of head coach Sabri Lamouchi, who had been appointed in January 2026. The federation named French manager Hervé Renard as his replacement for the remaining group‑stage games.

Lamouchi's short tenure included a win over Haiti and several heavy defeats, notably a 0‑5 loss to Belgium during the African Cup of Nations preparations. Renard, 57, previously coached Saudi Arabia, Zambia, the Ivory Coast and Morocco, and is expected to lead the team against Japan on 21 June and the Netherlands on 26 June. Mid‑tournament coach dismissals are extremely rare in World Cup history, the last comparable cases occurring in 1998.

The decision underscores the pressure on the low‑valued Tunisian squad, which entered the tournament with a market‑value estimate of around €70 million, and highlights the federation’s urgency to reverse its fortunes before the group stage concludes.