Sabri Lamouchi has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Tunisia with immediate effect, following a disastrous 5-1 defeat to Sweden at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Tunisian Football Federation confirmed the departure on Monday, marking a landmark and deeply unfortunate moment in football history. Lamouchi is the first manager to be sacked during the course of a FIFA World Cup tournament.
The 54-year-old Frenchman, who took charge of the Carthage Eagles with the ambition of steering them deep into the competition, instead presided over a campaign that rapidly unravelled.
Lamouchi becomes the first manager in the tournament’s 96-year history to be dismissed mid-World Cup,a record no one envies.”
Monday’s capitulation against Sweden proved to be the final straw. Conceding five times in a single fixture, with the Carthage Eagles managing only a consolation in reply, left the federation with no appetite to continue under current leadership. The scale of the defeat, coupled with the accumulation of underwhelming performances, accelerated what had appeared to be an inevitable conclusion.
Mondher Kebaier has been appointed as caretaker manager with immediate effect and will assume full charge of Tunisia’s remaining World Cup commitments. The experienced Tunisian coach is no stranger to the national setup, having previously guided the Carthage Eagles, and his appointment is intended to provide stability and a degree of familiarity as the squad attempts to salvage what remains of their campaign.
Kebaier’s task is to guide Tunisia’s hopes of progression to the next stage of the tournament. He must also lift a squad visibly low on confidence and reshape their collective approach in the limited preparation time available.
Whether he can extract a response worthy of the Carthage Eagles’ proud footballing tradition remains to be seen, but the federation has placed their trust firmly in his hands.
In 96 editions of the FIFA World Cup, no manager had ever been dismissed while the tournament was ongoing. That precedent has now been broken, and with it, a new and uncomfortable chapter has been written into the sport’s record books.
Reports of the sacking first emerged via Tunisian broadcaster Jawhara FM and respected French football journalist Romain Molina, before being widely confirmed across international media outlets.