Tunisian Federation Decides to Dismiss Lamouchi After One World Cup Match

Press reports have revealed that the Tunisian Football Federation is preparing to dismiss coach Sabri Lamouchi following the heavy 5-1 defeat against Sweden in the first round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.

According to informed sources, the decision was made hours after the match, making the French coach of Tunisian origin a candidate to be the first coach dismissed after just one game in the World Cup.

The Tunisian national team suffered a heavy defeat against Sweden thanks to goals from Yassin Ayari, Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres, and Mattias Svanberg, leaving the Carthage Eagles at the bottom of Group F with two matches remaining against Japan on June 21 and the Netherlands on June 26.

Lamouchi took over the leadership of the national team last January, succeeding Sami Trabelsi, but he only achieved one win in five matches.

Lamouchi commented on the defeat, saying: "It's a tough and painful loss. It's extremely difficult to start the tournament with this result. With world-class strikers like Gyökeres and Isak, it's hard to recover when you make so many mistakes. We have our pride, and we must respond and present a better image."

The Tunisian national team has a similar precedent, as they dismissed their Polish coach, Henryk Kasperczak, during the 1998 World Cup before the end of the group stage after losses to England and Colombia. Meanwhile, the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations saw the dismissal of Ivory Coast's coach, Jean-Louis Gasset, during the tournament, before his assistant, Emerse Faé, led the team to win the title.