Tunisia fire coach Lamouchi after 5-1 World Cup thrashing by Sweden
Tunisia dismissed head coach Sabri Lamouchi on Monday following a 5-1 defeat against Sweden in their opening 2026 FIFA World Cup match in Mexico. Mondher Kebaier has been named interim coach with a crucial clash against Japan looming on Saturday.
The thrashing
Sweden ran out 5-1 winners at the Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, part of the Monterrey metropolitan area, in a Group F game played earlier on Monday. Yasin Ayari struck twice (7', 90+6'), with further goals from Alexander Isak (30'), Viktor Gyökeres (59') and Mattias Svanberg. Tunisia's sole reply came from former Hertha Berlin defender Omar Rekik in the 43rd minute, but the result was never in doubt.
This is a painful defeat. It hurts. To start the competition with such a heavy defeat is difficult.
Immediate dismissal
Hours after the final whistle, the Tunisian football federation announced Lamouchi's removal on Instagram. "An agreement has been officially reached to dismiss coach Sabri Lamouchi," read the statement. "Plans are underway to appoint Mondher Kebaier as the national team coach on an interim basis."
We made too many mistakes. We shot ourselves in the foot.
Short and troubled tenure
The 54-year-old Frenchman had been in the job only five months, hired in January 2026. In his five matches before the World Cup, the sole victory came against outsiders Haiti (1-0), while a 5-0 defeat by Belgium in a pre-tournament friendly in Brussels had already placed him under severe scrutiny. Local media described a squad where experienced players and new call-ups struggled to gel, and Lamouchi's predecessor repeatedly postponed a necessary rebuild. Tunisia exited the Africa Cup of Nations last winter in the round of 16 against Mali.
Group F outlook
Tunisia will regroup quickly. They face Japan on Saturday at the same Guadalupe venue before finishing the group stage against the Netherlands in Kansas City, United States. The team sits bottom of a difficult section that also contains Sweden, and the coaching change adds further uncertainty to an already strained campaign.
Lamouchi's tournament past
The sacking revives memories of Lamouchi's previous World Cup experience, when he guided Côte d'Ivoire in 2014. An opening win over Japan was cancelled out by a stoppage-time defeat to Greece that eliminated the Ivorians at the group stage. Later, at Nottingham Forest, he came within a whisker of Premier League promotion in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic shattered that campaign. The quickest World Cup coaching exit remains Spain's dismissal of Julen Lopetegui two days before their first match in 2018.
