He sacked the Tunisian Federationsoccer Coach Sabri Lamouchi appointed Frenchman Herve Renard in his place until the end World Cup 2026 In North America, according to what state television announced, quoting its president, Moez al-Nasseri.
Al-Nassri said in a telephone call with the Tunisian television envoy to Monterrey that an official agreement had been reached with Renard, the former coach of the Saudi national team, “to assume the reins of supervision of the national football team for the rest of its journey in the 2026 World Cup.”
He added that Renard will arrive in Monterrey on Tuesday and begin the first training session with the “Carthage Eagles,” noting that “a mutual agreement has been reached to end the contractual relationship with Lamouchi, who left the team’s residence in Mexico.”
Lamouchi’s dismissal came as a result of the harsh loss suffered by the “Eagles of Carthage” against Sweden 1-5 on Sunday in Monterrey in the first round of Group Six competitions.
An informed source told Agence France-Presse that the coach’s future is “the subject of discussion among members of the university office” of the Tunisian Federation and that the decision “will be taken within hours.”
The fastest dismissal in World Cup history
Lamouchi became the first coach to be sacked after one match in the finals World Cup.
After the loss, Lamouchi said in a press conference: “It is a difficult and painful loss. Starting to compete with such a harsh loss is really difficult.”
The 54-year-old coach added, “With world-class players like the Swedish attacking duo (Alexander Isak and Viktor Ukiris), the task becomes more difficult. We made a lot of mistakes. We have our pride, we need to react, and we need to present a better image.”
Since his appointment last January, Lamouchi has achieved only one win in the five matches he led with the Carthage Eagles team, compared to three losses and one draw.
On the other hand, Renard was dismissed from his position as coach of Saudi Arabia two months before the start of the World Cup and was deprived of leading the Greens for the second time in a row at the World Cup after the first in the 2022 World Cup when he sparked a resounding surprise by winning the first match against Argentina, which later won the title.
This will be the third time in a row that Renard will lead a team in the World Cup after 2018 with Morocco, noting that he succeeded Lamouchi for the second time after the first in July 2014 at the head of the technical management of Ivory Coast when he was dismissed after its exit from the first round of the Brazilian World Cup.
Runar. (AFP)
How did Lamouchi get to coach Tunisia?
Lamouchi was appointed five months ago to succeed Sami Trabelsi, who left his position after the team’s exit in the round of 16 in the 2025 African Cup of Nations.
This is not the first time that Tunisia has dismissed a coach during the World Cup, as it did so with Poland’s Henrik Kasperczak during the 1998 World Cup in France, who was dismissed before the end of the group stage after losing to England and Colombia without scoring any goals.
Ali Al-Salimi then took charge in the last match, which ended in a draw against Romania.
The former coach, Trabelsi, was dismissed from his position one day after Tunisia was eliminated by Mali on penalties in the round of 16 of the last African Cup of Nations.
The French coach of Tunisian origin was relied upon in light of the increasing reliance on dual nationality or Tunisian players active in European tournaments, in contrast to the decline in the presence of players in the local tournament, which suffers, according to the coach himself, from a lack of consistency.
He said in a previous interview with Agence France-Presse: “I do not like to use the terms dual nationality or local, because we are all Tunisians first and foremost.”
Lamushi. (AFP)
In a list of 26 players, there were only six players active in the local league, including three goalkeepers.
Lamouchi previously supervised the Ivory Coast national team, and led it to participate in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He also had experiences with Rennes of France, Nottingham Forest of England, and Cardiff City of Wales, which contributed to saving it from relegation to the second division (Championship) in the 2022-2023 season.
Before the start of the finals, Lamouchi explained that Tunisia’s qualification from the group stage “will be a great achievement,” adding, “I hope to be the person who tells you that we will qualify. All Tunisians hope for that. But I know that the matter will be very complicated.”
Tunisia will play its second match with Japan on Saturday in Monterrey before meeting the Netherlands on June 25 in Kansas City.
