Tunisia Fires Coach Sabri Lamouchi After First World Cup Game
The pressure of the FIFA World Cup can arrive quickly, and for the Tunisia national football team, the consequences came after just one match. A disappointing start has resulted in the African nation delivering bad news to their coach Sabri Lamouchi.
The 58-year-old was appointed in January following Tunisia's disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign, where the team was eliminated by Mali on penalties in the Round of 16. However, Lamouchi is already on his way out after Tunisia's first game at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
According to reports, he has been sacked by Tunisia after the defeat to Sweden, with an official announcement expected in the coming hours. The African nation suffered a 5-1 defeat against Sweden in their Group F match. While the result exposed several problems, the team showed glimpses of quality in attack during the first half.
BREAKING: Tunisia have sacked Sabri Lamouchi after their loss to Sweden, as @Romain_Molina called.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) June 15, 2026
News will be confirmed in the next hours. pic.twitter.com/Qi5bgGUEAx
But that wasn't enough for Lamouchi to keep his job, as Tunisia has reportedly sacked the coach following their World Cup opener. His short stint with the Tunisian national team started with a 1-0 win over Haiti in January. However, that remained Lamouchi's only victory with the team. Since then, Tunisia recorded a goalless draw against Canada, suffered a 5-0 defeat against Belgium, and then lost to Sweden on the biggest stage.
The African nation has conceded 10 goals in their last two games while managing to score just one goal. Tunisia were competing strongly against Sweden before a mistake from midfielder Ellyes Skhiri allowed Sweden to score their third goal through Viktor Gyokeres. Lamouchi, who holds French and Tunisian citizenship, will now look for new opportunities.
Some even scrutinized his decisions during the game. For Tunisia, sacking a coach mid-tournament can make finding a replacement challenging. But according to reports, they have a familiar name lined up for the position. Mondher Kebaier is expected to take over the head coaching duties as Tunisia look to bounce back ahead of their games against Japan and the Netherlands.
Kebaier returns to a role he previously held from 2019 to 2022. His earlier spell ended after Tunisia were eliminated from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations following a 1-0 quarterfinal loss to Burkina Faso. Kebaier was dismissed months before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, the veteran coach now has the chance to lead his nation to the knockout rounds, which may seem like an impossible task after the Sweden game.
In their six World Cup appearances, Tunisia has never gone beyond the group stage. As things stand, they sit at the bottom of the group unless Kebaier can inspire a change of fate.
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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 9:02 AM.