Renard Begins His Mission with Tunisia: The Challenge is Great and We Will Work to Compensate

The Frenchman Hervé Renard, the new coach of the Tunisian national team, acknowledged the difficulty of the task awaiting him with the "Carthage Eagles" during the 2026 World Cup finals, emphasizing that the current phase requires swift action and immediate response following recent developments within the team.

Renard took over as the coach of the Tunisian national team, succeeding coach Sabri Lamouchi, who was dismissed following the heavy defeat against Sweden in the opening round of Group F competitions.

In his first media statement after his appointment, Renard told the French newspaper "Le Parisien" that taking on the role of coaching a national team during the World Cup is a rare opportunity he did not anticipate, noting that events accelerated significantly in a short period.

The French coach explained: "The challenge is significant, but I accepted the mission. Coaching a national team in the World Cup is extraordinary, and everything happened very quickly."

Renard added that the appointment decision came at a very tight time, which forced him to jump straight into the work environment without sufficient preparation time, affirming his determination to exert maximum effort to restore balance to the team.

He said in this context: "After Sabri Lamouchi's dismissal, things accelerated significantly, and there was no time to think, but I will work on preparing the team in the best possible way for the matches against Japan and the Netherlands."

Renard is expected to officially start his duties today, Tuesday, by overseeing his first training session with the Tunisian national team, as part of the preparations for the upcoming matches.

The French coach concluded his statements by emphasizing the difficulty of the current situation, but he also stressed that hope still remains, saying: "The situation is difficult and the task is not easy, but we will try to make up for it against Japan and then the Netherlands."