Tunisia Replaces Coach Mid-World Cup After Heavy Defeat

Tunisia has dismissed head coach Sabri Lamouchi following a significant 5-1 loss to Sweden in their opening match of the World Cup. The Tunisian Football Federation announced the decision on Tuesday, appointing former Saudi Arabia coach Hervé Renard as his successor.

This mid-tournament managerial change is a rare occurrence in World Cup history. It has been 28 years since a team last changed its coach during the competition. In the 1998 France World Cup, three teams, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, all replaced their managers mid-tournament due to poor performance.

South Korea, then managed by Cha Bum-kun, was defeated 3-1 by the Netherlands and 5-0 by Mexico. The Korean Football Association subsequently dismissed Cha, appointing Kim Pyung-seok as interim coach. Saudi Arabia, led by Carlos Alberto Parreira, also parted ways with their coach after losing their first two matches. Tunisia, after consecutive losses, replaced Henri Kasperczak.

Tunisia, needing at least one win and a draw to advance to the knockout stage, will now compete under Renard's guidance. Their remaining Group D matches are against Japan on June 21 and the Netherlands on June 26. The team's previous coach, Mondher Kebaier, resigned in January after a Round of 16 exit in the Africa Cup of Nations, making Lamouchi's tenure short-lived and ending in disappointment.