Tunisia delete sacking announcement then deny Lamouchi has left after 5-1 rout by Sweden

The Tunisia Football Federation (FTF) has plunged the national team into chaos by publishing and then deleting an Instagram statement confirming the sacking of head coach Sabri Lamouchi, just hours after a 5-1 World Cup qualifying defeat to Sweden at the Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, Mexico.

The now-deleted post read: “An agreement has been officially reached to dismiss coach Sabri Lamouchi. Plans are underway to appoint Mondher Kebaier as the national team coach on an interim basis to complete the World Cup qualifying matches.” The retraction appears to stem from a formal exit agreement not yet being finalised, leaving Lamouchi’s status officially unresolved.

Tunisian reports added to the confusion by indicating that Lamouchi led part of a training session at the Rayados Training Centre on Monday, though he was absent from the 15-minute open section that media were permitted to observe. A video later showed the squad returning to their hotel without the coach present.

The ex-Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City manager is still widely expected to leave his post, but the premature announcement — and its swift removal — has created a distraction the squad can ill afford. Tunisia face Japan at the same venue on Saturday in Group F, and it remains unclear who will be in the dugout.

Lamouchi was candid in his post-match assessment of the Sweden defeat, in which former Arsenal defender Omar Rekik pulled a goal back to make it 2-1 before half-time, only for the Swedes to run away with the game. “We need to be more aware,” Lamouchi said. “We cannot keep making mistakes that are obvious and easy to avoid. At this level, such errors are unforgivable. With world-class players that we have in the two Swedish forwards, it’s something that you don’t recover from.”

One name circulating as a potential replacement is Hervé Renard, who famously guided Saudi Arabia to a shock victory over Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar before departing the role. Whether the FTF can resolve the situation before Saturday’s fixture remains to be seen, but the chaotic handling of Lamouchi’s exit has already overshadowed Tunisia’s tournament.