The first dismissal of a coach in the 2026 World Cup is already a reality. The Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) decided to end Sabri Lamouchi's tenure just hours after the crushing 5-1 defeat against Sweden in the debut of the Group F.
The thrashing suffered in the debut turned out to be the final blow for a process that had begun earlier this year with the aim of leading the African team in the World Cup. However, the results never really supported him and the coach's early dismissal became an immediate consequence of the poor start in the tournament.
Lamouchi was dismissed from Tunisia after the thrashing against Sweden
Lamouchi leaves the position after just five matches in charge of the team, with a record of one win, one draw, and three losses. His last victory was in March, when Tunisia defeated 1-0 against Haiti in an international friendly. Since then, the team has accumulated a goalless draw against Canada and losses to Austria (1-0), Belgium (5-0), and now Sweden (5-1). Additionally, the recent numbers of the Tunisian team reflect the difficult present: they scored only two goals and conceded 11 in their last four matches.
The defeat against Sweden once again exposed the team's defensive problems. The Scandinavians dominated the match and built a wide lead thanks to a brace from Yasin Ayari and goals from Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres, and Mattias Svanberg. For his part, Omar Rekik scored the only Tunisian goal before halftime, when they were still only 2-0 down.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time Tunisia has faced such a situation in a World Cup. In France 1998, they also changed coaches during the competition, when Henryk Kasperczak was dismissed after losing the first two group stage matches (0-2 against England and 0-1 against Colombia). On that occasion, already without the possibility of advancing, the team concluded their participation with the Polish assistant Ali Selmi as interim coach, ending with a 1-1 draw against Romania.
Henryk Kasperczak was dismissed from Tunisia during the 1998 World Cup in France
Unlike that experience, the Tunisian leadership hopes that this change will have an immediate effect and allow them to steer the course in a Group F that still offers opportunities to keep dreaming of the Round of 32, although they will have to face tough rivals like Japan and the Netherlands.
