Tunisia’s World Cup 2026 campaign ended in turmoil after a brutal 48 hour spell saw them change coaches, lose 4-0, and crash out of the group stage.
The North African side began the tournament with a 5-1 defeat to Sweden in Monterrey on June 14, the result cost Sabri Lamouchi his job.
The Tunisian Football Federation sacked the former French international on June 15, making him the first manager in World Cup history to be fired after just one match. Lamouchi had only been in charge since January and won just 1 of 5 games.
In a swift move, the Federation appointed two-time AFCON winner Hervé Renard until the end of the tournament. The Frenchman, famed for guiding Saudi Arabia to a shock 2-1 win over Argentina at Qatar 2022, had no time to turn things around.
Renard’s debut ended in disaster on Saturday as Japan routed Tunisia 4-0 at Estadio Monterrey. With zero points from two Group F matches, the Eagles of Carthage are now out of the World Cup with one game left against the Netherlands on June 25.
“This game is all that matters… if you make a mistake at this level, you must reverse it immediately,” Renard said before the Japan clash, but the damage from Sweden proved too much to undo.
Tunisia’s seventh World Cup appearance ends without a knockout round berth, extending a record of never advancing from the group stage.
