World Cup: Tunisia Manager Sabri Lamouchi Fired After a Blowout Loss to Sweden

Sweden's 5-1 beatdown of Tunisia in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Group F match marked the end of Tunisia manager Sabri Lamouchi's tenure.

The Tunisian Football Federation fired Lamouchi on Monday, June 15, one day after the North African nation's tournament-opening loss.

Tunisia faces Japan on Saturday, June 20 (1 PM JST on Sunday) in Monterrey, Mexico, the same city where Lamouchi's five-match spell in charge came to an abrupt end. (The Samurai Blue earned a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands on June 14.)

Lamouchi, 54, began his Tunisia tenure in January 2026, and departed with one win, one draw and three defeats, the last of which triggered his dismissal.

Herve Renard takes over as world No 56 Tunisia's new manager. The contract is through the end of the World Cup, according to Tunisia's soccer governing body. That said, "there is an agreement for a possible expansion of that role after the tournament," FIFA.com reported.

A French-born son of Tunisian parents, Lamouchi guided the Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup. Before being appointed Tunisia boss, he coached Saudi Arabian club Al Diriyah. He also led Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City and other clubs in recent years.

Renard served as manager of Morocco during the 2018 World Cup. Four years later, the Frenchman managed Saudi Arabia at the quadrennial soccer tournament in Qatar, including a shock upset of eventual champion Argentina.

The 57-year-old Renard has also guided Zambia (two stints), Ivory Coast and Angola in the 21st century. With Renard in charge, Zambia captured the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations title. Three years later, he steered Ivory Coast to the title in the same tournament.

Renard returned for a second stint with Saudi Arabia, starting in 2024. He was fired in April 2026.

The End of Lamouchi's World Cup Managerial Job

How did Lamouchi react to Sweden's rout of Tunisia?

"It's a difficult loss, it's painful," Lamouchi was quoted as saying by The Athletic. "Starting the competition with this bad of a loss is indeed difficult. We made way too many mistakes, [and] we have our pride."

Then he said, "We need to react. We need to give a better image."

Naturally, Sweden manager Graham Potter had a more upbeat disposition after the match.

"It's football, so you know anything can happen," Potter said, according to Reuters, "especially at 2-1. But I thought the boys played with stability and calmness throughout the game."

Tunisia trailed 1-1 at halftime in its World Cup opener, then Sweden overpowered Lamouchi's men with four goals after the break.

It was Sweden's first World Cup match with five or more goals since it thrashed Cuba, 8-0, in 1938.

Lamouchi joins Henryk Kasperczak as Tunisia managers who were fired during the group stage of a World Cup. Kasperczak was ousted after two matches at the 1998 tournament.

Tunisia, appearing in its third consecutive World Cup and for the seventh time overall, is aiming to advance beyond the group stage for the first time.

Author: Ed Odeven

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