Every World Cup manager sacked mid-tournament after Tunisia bombshell | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup has been underway for less than a week and we’ve already had a managerial sacking.

While the club game has descended into a carousel of impatient fans, populist owners and burnt managers, it’s only happened five times in the history of the World Cup.

Strap yourselves in as we delve into each individual case, starting all the way back in 1954…

Andy Beattie (1954)

Beattie wasn’t technically sacked, but he resigned after the Scottish FA only allowed him to name a 13-man squad for their debut World Cup in 1954.

In the circumstances, a 1-0 loss to Austria wasn’t that bad. This was an era where Austria were actually very good and not the tournament filler they are today.

This was followed by a 7-0 hammering against Uruguay, with the Scots wearing heavy woollen shirts in the middle of a Swiss heatwave. Future World Cup appearances were only slightly less farcical.

Carlos Alberto (1998)

Saudi Arabia’s 1-0 loss to Denmark in their opening match of France ’98 featured impoverished football and temperatures of around 12 degrees in Lens. Not very Munidaly, we must say.

A thumping by their hosts in their second outing was enough for the Saudis to sack Carlos Alberto. After a punchy showing in 1994, this was a firm step backwards.

Without Alberto, who managed at five different World Cups, Saudi Arabia drew 2-2 against South Africa in their final group game. Sami Al-Jaber and Shaun Bartlett were among the scorers that day. Good times.

Cha Bum-kun (1998)

South Korean football has come a long way in the 21st century, turbo-charged by their successful co-hosting of the 2002 World Cup and run to the semi-finals of that tournament.

Back in 1998, the Koreans had never won a World Cup match and were regarded as exotic lightweights by the mainstream media.

After conceding eight goals in two matches against Mexico and the Netherlands, losing both and being eliminated early, they sacked the beleaguered Cha Bum-kun.

According to Bum-kun’s Wikipedia, he blamed the Korean FA for the poor showing in France, ‘citing a lack of bonuses and alleging pro soccer games in Korea were fixed’. He was duly banned for five years.

Kim Pyung-seok replaced him for the final match against Belgium and a spirited 1-1 draw eliminated their opponents.

Henryk Kasperczak (1998)

Something in the water in 1998…

Tunisia approached the finals hoping to repeat their brave performances from their debut in Argentina 20 years before. The reality was elimination in two matches.

A tame 2-0 defeat to England is best remembered for the pre-match fighting in Marseille, while they were unlucky to lose a helter-skelter match with Colombia that somehow only featured one goal.

They ruthlessly sacked Kasperczak and gained a modicum of pride from a 1-1 draw with Romania in their final outing.

Showing that time really is the greatest healer, Kasperczak managed Tunisia again in the 2010s.

Sabri Lamouchi (2026)

Sacking their manager after a single match in 2026 is arguably the most interesting Tunisian contribution to any World Cup.

The North Africans have become masters at slipping out unnoticed after three matches – usually a draw and two narrow-ish defeats – so their 5-1 hammering by Sweden was a bolt from the blue.

Granted, the Swedes have some top players. But they struggled in qualifying and had the good fortune to run into a wildly unbalanced Tunisian side.

They’ve responded by sacking Lambouchi and installing Herve Renard for the matches against Japan and the Netherlands. It wouldn’t be a major tournament without him.