Tunisia appoint Renard to replace Lamouchi one game into World Cup | OneFootball

Ollie Whitmore, Chief football news reporter

Tunisia have appointed Hervé Renard as their new head coach for the remainder of the World Cup following the dismissal of Sabri Lamouchi on Monday afternoon.

The former Saudi Arabia boss, who oversaw their famous 2-1 victory over eventual winners Argentina in the 2022 tournament in Qatar, replaces Lamouchi after Tunisia’s 5-1 thrashing by Sweden in their opening match in Group F.

Yasin Ayari, Alexendar Isak, and Viktor Gyökeres all shone as Graham Potter’s side stormed to a fantastic result, with Tunisia’s only goal to halve the deficit before half time coming from Omar Rekik.

The African side’s significantly inferior goal difference of -4 could put any chance of progressing to the round of 32 as one of the best third-placed teams into serious jeopardy, and it cost the 54-year-old Frenchman his job.

Renard, 57, took charge of Morocco for the 2018 World Cup and has also managed the Ivory Coast, Zambia, and Angola national teams prior to being hired by Tunisia for the final two group matches and beyond.

Lamouchi became only the fifth manager to have been sacked by a World Cup nation mid-tournament, joining former Spain and current Qatar boss Julian Lopetegui, Cha Bum-kun, Carlos Alberto Parreira, and Henryk Kasperczak.

Defeats to England and Colombia that year left the Eagles of Carthage mathematically eliminated with a game to spare in 1998, leading to Kasperczak’s sacking and caretaker manager Ali Selmi overseeing a 1-1 draw against Romania.

Now, Kasperczak is the first of two managers to have been dismissed by Tunisia at the World Cup finals, the most of any nation that has competed at the tournament since it began in 1930.

Technical director Mondher Kebaier was initially expected to take on the role of caretaker manager until the end of the World Cup, but the uphill battle to get Tunisia competitive in Group F now falls on the shoulders of Renard.

Tunisia next take on dark horses Japan at the Monterry Stadium on Sunday 21st of June at 05:00 (BST).

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