Tunisia Sack Coach Lamouchi After One World Cup Game
Sabri Lamouchi became the first coaching casualty of the 2026 World Cup, sacked by Tunisia after a 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opener. Mondher Kebaier takes over on an interim basis.
S abri Lamouchi has become the first coaching casualty of the 2026 World Cup, dismissed as Tunisia head coach after a heavy 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their tournament opener. The Tunisian Football Federation announced the decision, with Mondher Kebaier set to take charge on an interim basis.
A swift exit
"An agreement has been officially reached to dismiss coach Sabri Lamouchi," the federation said, adding that plans were under way to appoint Kebaier on an interim basis. Tunisia had arrived at their third straight World Cup on the back of a qualifying campaign in which they did not concede a goal, but were undone in Monterrey by a Yasin Ayari double and strikes from Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Mattias Svanberg.
"Too many mistakes"
"We made way too many mistakes. It is a difficult loss. It is painful," Lamouchi said after the game, pointing to the quality of Sweden’s attack. "With world-class players that we have in the two Swedish forwards, it is something that you don’t recover from."
A short tenure
Lamouchi, 54, was only hired in January, replacing Sami Trabelsi after a last-16 exit at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, and had already been under pressure following a 5-0 friendly defeat to Belgium on June 6. The Frenchman previously managed Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup. Tunisia next face Japan in Group F.
Reporting: based on reporting by The National, with verification from Al Jazeera, CBS Sports and Sky Sports, June 16, 2026.