Tunisia have sacked head coach Sabri Lamouchi and appointed Hervé Renard until the end of the World Cup, following a 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening match of the tournament.
Lamouchi Dismissed After Single World Cup Game
Former Nottingham Forest manager Lamouchi took over in January and was in charge for just five matches. He becomes the first coach to be dismissed after a single game of a World Cup finals. A statement from the Federation Tunisienne de Football announced the termination of its contractual relationship with Lamouchi by mutual agreement.
Renard Brings World Cup Experience
Renard will bring World Cup experience after leading Saudi Arabia to a surprise 2-1 win over eventual champions Argentina in Qatar. He also managed Morocco in 2018 and has coached Ivory Coast, Zambia, and Angola at international level. The 57-year-old will be in the dugout for Tunisia's remaining Group F fixtures against Japan and the Netherlands.
The Tunisia statement added: "The agreement [to appoint Renard] also states to open negotiations after the end of participation in the World Cup, for long-term cooperation based on specific sporting goals."
Group F Challenges Ahead
The thrashing by Sweden left the Eagles of Carthage bottom of their group. Japan are their next opponents in Monterrey, with kickoff at 5am BST. It is the second time Tunisia have removed a manager during a World Cup after Henryk Kasperczak was sacked following two defeats at the 1998 finals in France.
Lamouchi Reflects on Defeat
Speaking after the defeat, Lamouchi admitted it had been a "painful" experience. "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."
