Tunisia’s coach, Sabri Lamouchi, is reportedly on the brink of being fired after just one match at the World Cup.
In their opening game on Sunday, Tunisia faced a staggering 5-1 defeat against Sweden.
After the match, Lamouchi shared his sentiments with the media, stating, “It’s a tough loss. It hurts.” He added, “Starting a tournament with such a significant defeat is really difficult.”
He pointed out that facing two world-class forwards like Victor Gokeres and Alexander Isak contributed to their downfall. “We made too many mistakes. We have pride. We need to respond,” he urged.
This match was expected to be competitive, especially considering Tunisia was one of the standout teams during the African qualifiers. Their defense had been a strongpoint but was lacking against Sweden. It’s worth noting that goal difference is the second tiebreaker.
During the qualifiers, Tunisia won 9 out of 10 matches without conceding a single goal, marking a historic achievement. But this performance came under a different coaching structure.
Lamouchi took on the role following Tunisia’s Round of 16 exit in the AFCON 2026 tournament. His time in charge has seen five matches played, with only one victory and a concerning 11 goals conceded.
One of Lamouchi’s more puzzling decisions was during a recent clash where he switched to a 5-3-2 formation, which hadn’t been used during pre-World Cup friendlies. He called up seven offensive players but chose to keep them on the bench, opting for a defensive strategy instead.
This ultra-defensive setup failed to hold up, leading to two goals conceded in the first half, followed by three more after the 59-minute mark.
Historically, Tunisia has parted ways with managers during World Cups before; for instance, Henryk Kasperchak was dismissed after two games in 1998.
Tunisian superfan Omar Bergis, who has supported the team since 1998, voiced his frustration in an interview, describing it as one of the worst defeats he’s witnessed. “There was no strategy, no structure, no identity. It was just chaos on the pitch,” he said. Moreover, he pointed out that the players seemed disoriented, and without a proper striker from the beginning, every decision appeared misguided.
Currently, there is no interim coach named to replace Lamouchi, but a decision is pressing since Tunisia is scheduled to face Japan in just six days.
