Sabri Lamouchi became the first manager in World Cup history to be sacked after just one match, as the Tunisian Football Association confirmed his contract had been terminated by "mutual agreement" following a 5-1 thrashing by Sweden in their opening Group F fixture at the Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico.
The defeat proved fatal for the 54-year-old Frenchman, who had only been appointed in January, replacing Sami Trabelsi after a last-16 Africa Cup of Nations defeat to Mali. Reports immediately after the loss suggested Lamouchi had been fired on the spot, but sources told BBC Sport he actually took training on Monday before the FA moved to part ways.
“Tunisia sack Sabri Lamouchi one game into World Cup 2026 after 5-1 loss to Sweden, appoint Herve Renard.”
Former Morocco and Saudi Arabia manager Herve Renard has been brought in to lead the side for the remainder of the tournament.
Lamouchi's tenure lasted just five months and five matches, of which he won only one – a 1-0 victory over Haiti in his first game in charge. The slide began in warm-up friendlies earlier this month, with a 1-0 loss to Austria followed by a 5-0 hammering by Belgium. Then came Sunday's demolition by Sweden, after which a desolate Lamouchi admitted the loss was "painful".
"Starting the competition with this bad of a loss is indeed difficult," he 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."
The sacking marks a brutal new low in World Cup managerial history. Tunisia themselves have dismissed a manager mid-tournament before – Henryk Kasperczak after a poor start in 1998, though that came after two matches. South Korea's Cha Bum-Kun was also fired after two defeats in the same tournament. Spain's Julen Lopetegui was sacked two days before the 2018 World Cup began for agreeing to take over at Real Madrid. But no manager had ever lost his job after a single World Cup match.
Now Renard, who led both Morocco and Saudi Arabia at previous World Cups, must lift a side that has conceded 10 goals in its last two matches. Tunisia still face Japan and the Netherlands in Group F – two games that will decide whether they can salvage their campaign after a catastrophic start.