MEXICO CITY, June 15 (Xinhua/GNA) — Tunisia sacked head coach Sabri Lamouchi on Monday, following a 5-1 loss to Sweden in their opening game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Tunisian football federation announced the decision on its Instagram account.
“An agreement has been officially reached to dismiss coach Sabri Lamouchi,” the statement read. “Plans are under way to appoint Mondher Kebaier as the national team coach [on an interim basis].”
Tunisia will return to Monterrey Stadium, the scene of Sunday’s defeat, to play Japan on Saturday, before facing the Netherlands in Kansas City on June 25.
Lamouchi led Tunisia to one win, one draw and three losses following his appointment in January. He was already under pressure after a 5-0 friendly loss to Belgium in Brussels on June 6.
The Frenchman previously managed Cote d’Ivoire at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, where the African team failed to advance beyond the group stage.
The 54-year-old joins a select group of managers to lose their jobs during a World Cup. Others include Henryk Kasperczak, who also parted ways with Tunisia after two games of the 1998 edition in France, and Cha Bum-kun, who was dismissed by South Korea during the same tournament.
In 2018, Spain sacked Julen Lopetegui two days before the start of the World Cup in Russia after he signed with Real Madrid.
GNA