Authored by Ollie Whitmore, Lead Football Journalist
Reports from talkSPORT suggest that Tunisia’s head coach, Sabri Lamouchi, is on the verge of dismissal just a few hours after his team suffered a crushing 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their inaugural World Cup fixture.
The Swedish side, known as Blågult, under the guidance of ex-Brighton manager Graham Potter, secured an impressive victory with standout performances from Yasin Ayari, Alexendar Isak, and Viktor Gyökeres. Tunisia’s solitary goal, netted by Omar Rekik, served only to reduce their disadvantage before the interval.
This severe -4 goal difference for the North African squad could severely jeopardize their prospects of advancing to the knockout stage (the round of 32) as one of the top third-place finishers, potentially leading to the 54-year-old French coach’s termination.
Sports reporter Romain Molina commented, declaring, “Sabri Lamouchi’s tenure leading the Tunisian national squad is over.”
Supporters of the Tunisian team reacted strongly to their disgraceful loss at the start of their Group E fixtures, with one individual characterizing Lamouchi’s appointment for the 2026 World Cup as “the absolute worst decision.”
On a social media platform, they posted: “An utterly terrible concept during this World Cup. We were well aware that Lamouchi lacked significant tactical prowess, and that the Tunisian team played at a standard comparable to an Under-23 national squad.
“The fundamental issue extends far beyond this.”
Should this occur, Lamouchi would join an exclusive group as only the fifth coach to be dismissed by a World Cup participating nation during the tournament itself. Preceding him in this undesirable list are Julian Lopetegui (formerly Spain, now Qatar’s coach), Cha Bum-kun, Carlos Alberto Parreira, and Henryk Kasperczak.
In 1998, consecutive losses to England and Colombia meant the Eagles of Carthage were mathematically eliminated from contention before their final group stage match. This resulted in Kasperczak’s dismissal by the national football governing body, with interim coach Ali Selmi subsequently managing a 1-1 tie against Romania.
Presently, it appears Kasperczak will be noted as the initial of two managers whom Tunisia has relieved of their duties at the World Cup finals – a record number for any country participating in the competition since its inception in 1930.
Mondher Kebaier, the technical director, is anticipated to assume managerial responsibilities for the remainder of the championship. This includes their last two group encounters versus the unexpected challengers Japan and the Netherlands, a pair of teams who recently concluded an exciting 2-2 stalemate on Sunday night.
