2026 World Cup: Sabri Lamouchi, a second failure and a departure

21.06.26 FT World Cup

Tunisia

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Sabri Lamouchi won't be sticking around long at the helm of the Tunisian national team. His exit has already been confirmed after the humiliating 1-5 defeat to Sweden on Sunday night, in the opening match of Group F at the World Cup.

Appointed head coach on January 14, 2026, the Lyon-born manager arrived with high ambitions, but his underwhelming results—including just one win, a 1-0 friendly against Haiti, and two heavy defeats to Belgium (5-0) and Sweden (5-1)—have hastened his departure.

World Cup 2026: The official and complete group stage schedule

The Tunisian Football Federation decided on his departure even before the last two Group F matches against Japan and the Netherlands, confirming a disappointing second World Cup campaign.

In fact, the 54-year-old coach previously led Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup. In Brazil, the Elephants finished third in Group C with three points. After a win over Japan (2-1), his team suffered back-to-back defeats to Colombia (2-1) and Greece (1-2).

History is repeating itself for Lamouchi, who failed to go far with a golden generation featuring Didier Drogba, Yaya Touré, Gervinho, and Kolo Touré, and now finds himself with almost no chance at the helm of a Tunisian squad in full rebuild mode.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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