Tunisia have parted ways with head coach Sabri Lamouchi after the team’s heavy defeat in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup, appointing Herve Renard as his replacement for the remainder of the tournament.
The Tunisian Football Association confirmed that Lamouchi’s contract had been ended by mutual agreement following Sunday’s 5-1 loss to Sweden in Group F at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico.
Initial reports suggested the 54-year-old had been dismissed immediately after the match, although he remained in charge of training on Monday. The federation later announced the official decision and named Renard, the former Morocco and Saudi Arabia coach, as the new manager until the end of the competition.
The move makes Lamouchi the first coach in World Cup history to leave his position after just one match at the tournament.
His departure ends a brief five-month spell in charge. The former Nottingham Forest manager was appointed in January after Sami Trabelsi stepped down following Tunisia’s last-16 exit against Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Speaking after the defeat to Sweden, Lamouchi described the result as a painful setback.
Tunisia’s problems had been evident before the tournament. The team lost both of their World Cup warm-up matches, falling 1-0 to Austria before suffering a 5-0 defeat against Belgium.
Lamouchi managed only one victory in five matches as Tunisia coach, with his sole win coming in a 1-0 success over Haiti in his first game in charge.
While previous World Cups have seen managers dismissed during tournaments, none had lost their job after only a single match. Tunisia removed Henryk Kasperczak during the 1998 World Cup after the team failed to win either of its first two games, while South Korea dismissed Cha Bum-kun after two defeats at the same tournament. Spain also parted company with Julen Lopetegui just two days before the start of the 2018 World Cup after he agreed to take charge of Real Madrid.
Renard now faces the task of reviving Tunisia’s campaign, with crucial Group F matches against Japan and the Netherlands still to come.