Tunisia's Lamouchi becomes first coaching casualty of World Cup 2026

Tunisia have sacked coach Sabri Lamouchi following their 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their World Cup opener in Monterrey on Sunday, the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) announced.

The FTF has appointed fellow Frenchman Herve Renard as his replacement, with the 56-year-old set to lead Tunisia in their remaining Group F matches against Japan on Saturday and the Netherlands on June 25.

Lamouchi becomes the first coaching casualty of the 2026 World Cup. He was appointed in January on a contract running until 2028.

Tunisia won just one of their five matches under Lamouchi, beating Haiti 1-0 in March. They also suffered a 1-0 defeat to Austria and a 5-0 loss to Belgium in World Cup warm-up matches earlier this month.

In a statement posted on social media on Tuesday, the federation said Renard would remain in charge until the conclusion of Tunisia's World Cup campaign. "The agreement also stipulates that negotiations will be opened after the World Cup campaign to consider a long-term partnership based on specific sporting objectives," it added.

The country's state-owned broadcaster Television Tunisienne reported that Renard would arrive in Monterrey later on Tuesday to link up with the squad.

Renard, twice an Africa Cup of Nations winner, coached Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and led them to a famous victory over eventual champions Argentina in the group stage.

He left to coach the French women's team at the World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics, before returning to Saudi Arabia and helping the men's side qualify for a third successive World Cup.

He was then replaced by Georgios Donis in the build-up to the tournament.