Tunisia confirm Herve Renard as new coach after Lamouchi’s dismissal
The Tunisian football federation has appointed experienced tactician Herve Renard as head coach through the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, following the dismissal of Sabri Lamouchi after a disappointing start to the tournament.
The Tunisian Football Federation said Renard would begin his duties on Tuesday evening and that discussions over a longer-term partnership would take place after the World Cup.
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“The agreement also includes the opening of negotiations after the World Cup to establish a long-term partnership based on specific sporting objectives,” the federation said in a statement.
The Frenchman takes over, with Tunisia facing Group F matches against Japan on Saturday, June 21, 2026, and the Netherlands on June 26, 2026.
Tunisia is seeking to recover from a 5-1 loss to Sweden in its opening match. The team also suffered a 5-0 defeat to Belgium in a pre-tournament friendly.
Lamouchi was appointed in January and took charge of just five games. Even more incredibly, this is history repeating itself for Tunisia. In 1998, they sacked Henryk Kasperczak after a poor start. He was at least given two games, failing to win them both.
His only win came in a 1-0 victory over Haiti. The former Nottingham Forest boss was appearing at his second World Cup, having taken charge of the Ivory Coast in 2014 where they were knocked out in the group stages.
Extensive experience
Renard, 57, brings extensive international experience. He guided Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire to Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2012 and 2015 respectively, and has also managed Morocco and Saudi Arabia.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Renard’s Saudi Arabia side produced one of the tournament’s biggest upsets by defeating eventual champion Argentina 2-1 in its opening match.
Renard most recently coached France’s women’s national team, leading Les Bleues to the 2024 UEFA Women’s Nations League final.
His club coaching experience includes spells in France’s top flight with Lille and Sochaux, along with brief stints in England, Algeria and Vietnam.
