Tunisia Fire Their Coach After Just One World Cup Game Following Humiliating Sweden Defeat

Tunisia have kinda become the story of the opening week at the FIFA World Cup 2026 — and really not in the way anybody was expecting. The Tunisian Football Federation moved fast to dismiss coach Sabri Lamouchi, just one day after that brutal 5-1 opening loss to Sweden, basically making him the first coach in World Cup history to be sacked after, a single match only. 

It felt like a dramatic, and also kinda damning verdict from a federation that said they’d had enough.

A Night to Forget in Monterrey  
Tunisia’s World Cup debut was heavily shaped by individual mistakes right from that first whistle, with the first real blow landing super early, in the seventh minute through Yasin Ayari — a player of Tunisian descent through his father. After that, there was this collapse, leaving the Carthage Eagles bruised, and yeah, the federation with no choice but to act.  

There was tension too inside the camp during the match. Defender Yan Valery looked visibly frustrated towards Lamouchi when he was substituted in the 72nd minute, which immediately raised serious questions about the mood, and the overall atmosphere in the dressing room.

Lamouchi had only been appointed in January, and his situation was already under pressure before the tournament even kicked off, following a 5-0 friendly loss to Belgium in pre-World Cup preparations. And then, reports came out about concerns within the federation over his son being present at Tunisia’s World Cup training camp. Officials reportedly questioned his access, even though he wasn’t part of the official delegation.

Renard Steps In  
With Mondher Kebaier initially named as interim, the federation didn’t really waste time looking around, and they pushed for something more high-profile. French coach Herve Renard has now been appointed to take charge of Tunisia for the remainder of the tournament, and the deal also includes a longer-term project beyond the World Cup.
Renard isn’t new to the huge lights. He led Saudi Arabia into a widely talked about victory against Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and he’s also lifted the Africa Cup of Nations twice, so he comes with plenty of know-how. That said, Tunisia’s squad is still pretty rattled, and really could use calm, steady hands. Devdiscourse

This appointment feels like a big comeback for the Frenchman, because it puts him back on the World Cup scene. He had already guided Saudi Arabia through qualifying for this same tournament, then was moved on before the finals, so now it’s sort of a second chance, in a way

What Comes Next  
Tunisia now have a must-not-lose kind of moment. The Carthage Eagles face Japan in their second Group F match on Saturday, then they close out the group stage against the Netherlands. Since they only need one good outcome across three matches to keep qualification hopes from slipping away, Renard won’t get much time to flip things around.  

For Tunisia, the World Cup is still there, but only just. Whether Renard can pull off another miracle, and do it quickly enough, is still up in the air.