Tunisia didn't wait long. Twenty-four hours after being taken apart 5-1 by Sweden in their World Cup opener, Sabri Lamouchi was out — the first coach sacked at this tournament — and Hervé Renard was on a plane to Monterrey.
Lamouchi had been in the job since January, signed on a contract running to 2028. He leaves having won exactly one of five matches in charge: a 1-0 friendly win over Haiti. The other results — a 1-0 loss to Austria and a 5-0 hiding from Belgium in warm-up games — were warning signs that went unheeded. The Sweden result made the decision for everyone.
Why Renard makes sense
The Tunisian Football Federation didn't go scrambling for a name — they went and got one of the most experienced African football coaches alive. Renard has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice, coached Saudi Arabia to one of the great World Cup upsets (that 2-1 win over Argentina in Qatar still holds up), and has since guided the Saudis to a third consecutive World Cup qualification before being replaced ahead of this tournament.
He knows knockout-style pressure. He knows how to land in a group-stage situation mid-tournament and impose structure fast. That's exactly what Tunisia need — two games left, against Japan on Saturday and the Netherlands on June 25, with their campaign already on life support.
The FTF confirmed the arrangement is through the end of the World Cup, with a clause that negotiations for a longer deal will open once the group stage is done. A survival clause, essentially.
What this means on the pitch
Tunisia's odds of progressing from the group were already thin after Sunday. They haven't improved. Japan are organized and dangerous on the counter, and the Netherlands represent a step up in quality again. Renard will need to immediately shore up a defence that shipped five — and do it with a squad that barely knows him.
Still, the man has done more with less before. Whether that's enough here, with two days to prepare for Japan and a squad in shock, is a different question entirely.
The FTF has made its call. Now Renard has to make it count.
