By Moon Ye-bin
Tunisia Fires Manager After 1-5 Loss to Sweden
Sudden Split Amid Squad Conflict and Leadership Controversy
Mondher Kebaier Takes Over From Japan Match
Tunisia, which suffered a heavy defeat to Sweden at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, has abruptly sacked manager Sabri Lamouchi, making a bold gamble for a turnaround in the group stage.
According to foreign media including The Athletic of the United States on Tuesday (Korea time), the Tunisian Football Federation decided to part ways with French-born manager Lamouchi immediately after a 1-5 defeat to Sweden in their Group F opener at the World Cup. The federation held an emergency meeting with the squad after the match, and Lamouchi was reported to have lost the players’ confidence.
If Lamouchi officially steps down, he will be recorded as the first manager to be dismissed at the tournament. It is an unusual case in which a head coach is replaced after just one match since the World Cup began.
Tunisia were completely beaten 1-5 by Sweden in a match held at Monterrey Stadium in Mexico on Monday, conceding consecutive goals from Yasin Ayari, Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres, and Mattias Svanberg. Having dropped to the bottom of the group, Tunisia face difficult matches in their remaining games against Japan and the Netherlands.
In particular, Tunisia were drawn into Group F, considered the so-called “Group of Death” alongside Sweden, Japan, and the Netherlands, but had raised expectations by showing strong competitiveness during their qualification campaign. They reached the World Cup finals for the third consecutive time and seventh overall with a dominant performance, recording nine wins and one draw in 10 African qualifying matches, scoring 22 goals while conceding none. However, after suffering a heavy defeat in their first match at the finals, their prospects of advancing from the group stage have also dimmed.
Lamouchi, who took the helm of the national team in January this year, had struggled to produce results since his appointment. A 1-0 win over Haiti was his only victory, and he managed just one win in his last five matches including official and friendly games. In friendlies just before the World Cup began, he exposed an unstable run, losing 0-1 to Austria and 0-5 to Belgium.
Beyond the poor results, controversy surrounding the management of the national team continued. Locally, questions had been raised about his leadership after Lamouchi brought his son along to the national team training camp, followed by reports of conflict with the squad.
The Tunisian Football Federation plans to temporarily hand over the reins to Mondher Kebaier, a Tunisian who led the national team from 2019 to 2022. Kebaier, who currently serves as the federation’s technical director, is set to lead the team from the Japan match.
Meanwhile, Tunisia, who face Japan in their second group stage match on the 21st, will then play their final match against the Netherlands on the 26th.
Source: sedaily.com