In a historic first for the FIFA World Cup, Tunisia have parted ways with head coach Sabri Lamouchi just days after a lopsided opening Group F defeat to Sweden at the 2026 tournament, marking the earliest dismissal of a manager in the competition’s history. The North African side suffered a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Sweden on Sunday at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico, a result that triggered immediate speculation about Lamouchi’s future. While initial reports claimed the Frenchman had been relieved of his duties straight after the final whistle, multiple sources confirmed to BBC Sport Africa that Lamouchi still led a team training session on Monday. The Tunisian Football Association later made the separation official, announcing that the 54-year-old’s contract had been terminated by mutual agreement. Stepping into the role with immediate effect is veteran manager Herve Renard, who has previously held top jobs with the Morocco and Saudi Arabia national teams, and will remain at the helm through the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup. Lamouchi’s exit comes after just five months in charge of Tunisia, having been appointed in January following the exit of Sami Trabelsi, who stepped down after the team’s round of 16 defeat to Mali at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Across his five matches in charge, Lamouchi only managed to secure one victory: a narrow 1-0 win over Haiti in his debut fixture at the post. In Tunisia’s two pre-tournament warm-up matches earlier this June, the side fell 1-0 to Austria before a demoralizing 5-0 defeat to world powerhouse Belgium that offered an early sign of the challenges the team would face in Mexico. Speaking shortly after the Sweden defeat, Lamouchi acknowledged the severity of the performance, calling the opening loss “painful” for the squad. “Starting the competition with this bad of a loss is indeed difficult,” he said. “We made too many mistakes, and this is not something that we can do. We are shooting ourselves in the foot, we are hurting ourselves.” While manager dismissals after poor tournament starts are not unprecedented in World Cup history, Lamouchi’s departure is the first to occur after just a single match. The previous instances of early sackings date back to the 1998 World Cup, when Tunisia let go of Henryk Kasperczak after two opening matches without a win, and South Korea dismissed Cha Bum-Kun following two straight opening defeats. More recently, Spain sacked Julen Lopetegui just two days before the 2018 tournament kicked off, after he agreed to take the Real Madrid head coaching role mid-competition. Now, with Renard newly installed at the helm, Tunisia turn their focus to their remaining Group F fixtures against Japan and the Netherlands as they fight to keep their 2026 World Cup campaign alive.