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United StatesSports6 days ago

World Cup Coach Fired After Embarrassing 5-1 Loss

Tunisia's national football team fired their head coach, Sabri Lamouchi, after a heavy 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The decision came just one day after the loss, with former manager Mondher Kebaier set to take charge for the team's remaining two group stage matches. Lamouchi had been appointed in January 2025 and previously coached Ivory Coast during the 2014 World Cup.

News Article

Published

Jun 15, 2026 at 02:24 PM EDT

By Jordan Sigler

Tunisia wasn't favored in its opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Sweden on Sunday, but a 5-1 loss was an unacceptable start for the Group F team.

Tunisia allowed three goals to Yasin Ayari, the first goal coming in the seventh minute and the final coming in the 96th minute. Alexander Isak added a goal in the 30th minute and Viktor Gyokeres added another in the 59th minute. Omar Rekik scored Tunisia's lone goal in the 43rd minute in front of 50,987 fans at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, Mexico.

Per multiple reports, Tunisia fired head coach Sabri Lamouchi on Monday. Mondher Kebaier is returning to manage the team.

According to Bleacher Report Football , "Tunisia have sacked head coach Sabri Lamouchi just one game into the World Cup, following their 5-1 defeat to Sweden on Sunday, Mondher Kebaier, who managed Tunisia from 2019-22, will lead them in the remaining two matches."

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Tunisia hired Lamouchi on Jan. 14. He won one game with the team, lost three and earned one draw.

Lamouchi led Ivory Coast to a 2-1 win over Japan in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but the Elephants lost their next two matches and were eliminated from the tournament.

Following Sunday's contest, Lamouchi called it a "painful" defeat and wasn't sure Tunisia would recover from the four-goal loss. He thought Tunisia made too many mistakes to overcome against a good team like Sweden.

"With world-class players that ​we have in the two Swedish ​forwards, it's something that you don't recover from," he said , via Reuters.

Lamouchi hoped to see improvement in the next two games in the group.

"We have our pride," he said. "We ​need to react. We need to give a better ​image."

Tunisia will next play Japan on Saturday before finishing group play against the Netherlands on June 25.

Japan should feel confident heading into that contest after surprising the Netherlands with a late goal to earn a 2-2 tie on Sunday.

For more on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, head to Newsweek Sports .

Read the full article at Newsweek →
Source document: Bleacher Report Football

1 reports

NewsweekIndependentCenter6 days ago
World Cup Coach Fired After Embarrassing 5-1 Loss

Tunisia's national football team fired their head coach, Sabri Lamouchi, after a heavy 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The decision came just one day after the loss, with former manager Mondher Kebaier set to take charge for the team's remaining two group stage matches. Lamouchi had been appointed in January 2025 and previously coached Ivory Coast during the 2014 World Cup.

Bias read (Center): The article presents factual information about the firing of a sports coach following a poor performance in a World Cup match. There is no evident ideological framing, biased language, or selective sourcing. The content remains strictly factual and neutral in tone.

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