Hervé Renard set to take charge of Tunisia after Lamouchi sacked following 5-1 World Cup loss

Hervé Renard is reportedly set to be appointed as Tunisia’s new head coach after the North African nation moved to dismiss Sabri Lamouchi in the wake of a 5-1 World Cup qualifying defeat to Sweden.

Lamouchi, 54, had only been in the role since January, following Tunisia’s last-16 exit at the Africa Cup of Nations. He managed just one win during his tenure before the heavy loss to Sweden — a result that appears to have prompted swift action from the Tunisian Football Federation.

The federation initially posted a statement on Instagram confirming Lamouchi’s dismissal and announcing that Mondher Kebaier would step in as interim coach, before appearing to delete the post. Despite the apparent backtrack, reports from beIN suggest the federation’s plans have since shifted toward a more high-profile appointment in Renard.

The 57-year-old Frenchman brings considerable international pedigree to the role. He is perhaps best known for orchestrating Saudi Arabia’s stunning 2-1 victory over Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar — one of the tournament’s most memorable upsets. Renard was subsequently sacked by Saudi Arabia ahead of this summer’s World Cup, but his broader CV includes spells with France women, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Zambia, and Angola. He has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice.

Earlier in his career, Renard also had a brief spell in English football with Cambridge United, initially joining as a coach under Claude Le Roy before taking on the manager’s role.

Lamouchi reflected on the defeat to Sweden with evident frustration. “It’s a difficult loss. It’s painful,” he said. “With world-class players that we have in the two Swedish forwards — Gyökeres and Isak — it’s something that you don’t recover from. We made way too many mistakes. We have our pride. We need to react.”

Should Tunisia’s dismissal of Lamouchi be confirmed, it would place him among a rare group of managers to have been sacked during a World Cup. Only three coaches have previously been relieved of their duties mid-tournament: Carlos Alberto Parreira from Saudi Arabia, Cha Bum-kun from South Korea, and Henryk Kasperczak — also from Tunisia — all during the 1998 World Cup in France.