Tunisia have dismissed head coach Sabri Lamouchi following their catastrophic World Cup loss to Sweden. The Eagles of Carthage entered the tournament in the United States with optimism about advancing from the group stage, but their aspirations now lie in ruins after a 5-1 thrashing by a rampant Swedish side.
Defensive Errors Prove Costly
A series of defensive blunders were ruthlessly exploited by Graham Potter's dark horses. Prolific forwards Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres eagerly accepted the chances that came their way. Brighton's Yasin Ayari, who had the option to represent Tunisia, compounded the misery with two spectacular goals, while substitute Mattias Svanberg scored with his first touch.
Grim Outlook in Group F
Tunisia are now rank outsiders to advance, given the fiercely competitive nature of Group F, which also includes Japan and the Netherlands. With the situation looking bleak, Lamouchi, 54, who previously coached Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, has had his contract terminated by mutual agreement.
Reports initially suggested Lamouchi was dismissed immediately after the defeat, but BBC Sport indicates he led team training on Monday before the Tunisian Football Association made their decision. Lamouchi thus becomes the first manager in World Cup history to be sacked after just one game.
Renard Appointed as Replacement
Former Morocco and Saudi Arabia manager Herve Renard has been appointed head coach for the remainder of the tournament. The crestfallen former Monaco midfielder said after the defeat in Monterrey: "It's a difficult loss. It's painful. Starting the competition with this bad of a loss is indeed difficult.
"With world-class players that we have in the two Swedish forwards, it's something that you don't recover from. We made way too many mistakes. We have our pride. We need to react. We need to give a better image."
Lamouchi's Brief Tenure
Lamouchi was only appointed in January and won just one of his five games in charge of Tunisia. The team faces Japan on Sunday before taking on the Netherlands in their final Group F clash the following Friday.
