Tunisia Appoints Hervé Renard as Coach After 5-1 World Cup Loss to Sweden

Tunisia dismissed head coach Sabri Lamouchi on Tuesday after a 5-1 loss to Sweden in the team’s opening 2026 World Cup match and appointed French coach Hervé Renard as his replacement. The Tunisian soccer federation announced the coaching change on its social media accounts. Lamouchi, 54, had held the post only since January.

Renard’s contract covers the World Cup, with any longer-term agreement to be discussed afterward, the federation said. The 5-1 defeat occurred Sunday in Guadalupe, near Monterrey, Mexico. Tunisia’s remaining group matches are against Japan on Saturday and the Netherlands on June 25.

Renard previously led Zambia and Ivory Coast to Africa Cup of Nations titles. He coached Morocco at the 2018 World Cup, Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup, and France at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. His second stint with Saudi Arabia ended in April when he was replaced by Georgios Donis after two friendly losses.

Tunisia is appearing in its seventh World Cup and has never advanced from the group stage. In 1998 the federation dismissed coach Henryk Kasperczak after group-stage losses to England and Colombia. Lamouchi is a former France international who coached Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup.