Tunisia has officially fired head coach Sabri Lamouchi just one game into the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament.
The decision comes immediately after the Carthage Eagles’ humiliating 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their Group F opener.
Investigative journalist Romain Molina broke the news, confirming the Tunisian Football Federation acted swiftly due to dressing room tension and the heavy loss.
Lamouchi’s tenure ends after just five games in charge. Former manager Mondher Kebaier is expected to step in as interim coach ahead of their crucial must-win clash against Japan on June 20th.
The pressure on Sabri Lamouchi reached a breaking point after Sweden completely dominated the match, which included a highly talked-about goal from Yasin Ayari against his father’s home country.
Tunisia lost 5-1 in World Cup opener
Following the embarrassing 5-1 blowout, the Tunisian Football Federation acted swiftly to dismiss the coach as they look to salvage their international campaign. The heavy defeat left the federation with no choice but to terminate his contract immediately.
Lamouchi becomes the first coach to be sacked while the 2026 World Cup is still underway. Lamouchi started his professional career with Alès and then moved to Auxerre for four years.
He then went on to join Monaco, who he helped to the Ligue 1 title in 2000, before being snapped up by Parma of Italy. He later moved to Inter Milan.
Lamouchi had a spell at Genoa before joining Marseille on loan the following year. In January 2006, the loan deal was made a permanent move.
He played for Marseille for six further months, until he announced that he was leaving the club on 18 September 2006, although his contract ran until June 2007.
