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The Tunisian Football Federation fired head coach Sabri Lamouchi after the team lost 5-1 to Sweden in their first 2026 World Cup group match. He is the first coach in World Cup history to be dismissed after only one game.
The federation shared the news on national television on Monday, confirming that French coach Herve Renard will lead the team for the rest of the tournament.
"'The president of the Tunisian Football Federation, Moez Nassari, announced that an official agreement had been reached with French coach Herve Renard for him to take charge of the national football team until the end of the 2026 World Cup," the Tunisian public broadcaster announced.
Lamouchi, 54, became the coach in January and won only one of his five games, a 1-0 win over Haiti. The heavy loss to Sweden on Sunday ended his time in charge.
Renard is an experienced international coach who knows how to handle high-pressure tournaments. He led Saudi Arabia to a surprise win over eventual champions Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which many saw as one of the tournament's biggest upsets. Most recently, he coached the French women's national team.
Tunisia now faces a tough challenge to move forward from Group F. After losing by five goals, the team needs to regroup quickly before playing Japan on Saturday, then finishing the group stage against the Netherlands.
With just three points left to play for in their last two group games, Tunisia needs a big improvement under Renard to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout round alive.
The heavy opening loss means there is little room for mistakes as the team tries to settle under new leadership during the tournament.
The appointment marks a rare instance of a coach change during a World Cup, indicating that the federation wanted to act quickly rather than wait until the group stage ended.
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