World Cup: Tunisia Sack Sabri Lamouchi After First Group-Stage Match
The Tunisian Football Association has created an unprecedented piece of World Cup history by parting ways with head coach Sabri Lamouchi following a single group-stage game.
The decision comes in the wake of a bruising 5-1 loss against Sweden in their Group F opener on Sunday at the Estadio Monterrey in Mexico. While initial rumors pointed to an immediate dismissal, the 54-year-old Frenchman actually led a training session on Monday before the federation officially announced his departure later that evening.
No manager in the history of the men's World Cup has ever been dismissed after only one match of the tournament. While previous editions have seen coaches fired after two group defeats, such as South Korea's Cha Bum-kun in 1998, or right before kickoff like Spain's Julen Lopetegui in 2018, Lamouchi's brief tenure sets a new record.
The former Nottingham Forest manager leaves the role after just five months in charge, having won only one of his five fixtures, a 1-0 friendly victory against Haiti. Tunisia's defensive frailties were heavily exposed in the buildup to the tournament, including a 5-0 hammering by Belgium and a 1-0 loss to Austria.
Reflecting on the heavy loss to Sweden, Lamouchi had admitted the result was "painful".
"Starting the competition with this bad of a loss is indeed difficult," Lamouchi said. "We made too many mistakes, and this is not something that we can do. We are shooting ourselves in the foot, we are hurting ourselves."
Beyond the poor scorelines, reports indicate that internal friction sealed Lamouchi's fate. The manager had been dealing with growing tension involving both the federation and various squad members since he took over the job in January.
Who is taking over?
Prominent tactician Hervé Renard is set to take over the reins for the rest of the campaign. The 57-year-old is expected to land at Tunisia's base in Mexico on Tuesday to run an evening training session in Monterrey. This will be Renard’s third men's World Cup with three different nations, following a group-stage run with Morocco in 2018 and his memorable 2022 campaign with Saudi Arabia, which featured a shocking opening win against Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
Renard will keep assistant coach and former international midfielder Wahbi Khazri on staff. Tunisia desperately needs stability as they prepare to face Japan on Saturday before concluding their Group F schedule against the Netherlands.
