Lamouchi out, Renard in as Tunisia reach for emergency World Cup fix

Tunisia have dismissed Sabri Lamouchi and appointed Hervé Renard until the end of the World Cup, less than 48 hours after the Eagles of Carthage were beaten 5-1 by Sweden.

The Tunisian Football Federation said Lamouchi’s departure came by mutual agreement. Renard, one of the best-known coaches in African football, was brought in for the remaining Group F matches against Japan and the Netherlands, with the possibility of talks on a longer arrangement after the tournament.

The decision made Lamouchi the first coaching casualty of the 2026 World Cup. It also placed Tunisia back in familiar territory: a national team in crisis, a federation under pressure and an emergency appointment presented as a solution to problems that had been building for months.

Lamouchi was appointed in January on a contract running until 2028. He leaves after only five matches in charge. Tunisia won once under him, against Haiti, and entered the tournament after defeats to Austria and Belgium. The 5-0 loss to Belgium in particular had already raised questions about whether the team was ready for the pace and quality of World Cup opposition.

The Sweden defeat turned those questions into a public reckoning. Tunisia did not simply lose the match. They looked unprepared for the level of the contest. The federation’s response was immediate and drastic.

Renard brings a strong record in African football. He won the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015, coached Morocco at the 2018 World Cup and led Saudi Arabia to victory over Argentina in Qatar in 2022. His reputation is built on discipline, emotional authority and the ability to organise teams quickly.

That is why the appointment makes sense in football terms. It is also why it cannot hide the scale of the institutional problem.

Tunisia have changed coaches repeatedly in recent years. The federation itself has gone through a turbulent period since the fall of former president Wadie Jary, who was arrested in 2023 and later sentenced to prison on corruption charges. FIFA placed the federation under a normalisation process before Moez Nasri was elected president in 2025.

The World Cup collapse now places Nasri’s leadership under direct pressure. Supporters are not only angry about the Sweden result. They are angry about the impression of improvisation: changes in direction, late coaching decisions, unclear selection logic and the absence of a stable football project.

Renard cannot correct all of that in a few days. His task against Japan is narrower: restore order, reduce the damage and give Tunisia a chance to compete. The federation’s task is larger and more uncomfortable. It must explain how a team that reached the World Cup with defensive confidence arrived in North America looking so fragile.

For now, Tunisia have changed the coach. The harder question is whether they are willing to change the system around him.