Tunisia have parted ways with head coach Sabri Lamouchi after just one game at the FIFA World Cup 2026, making him the first manager in the tournament's history to lose his job so early in a competition.

The Eagles of Carthage suffered a bruising 5-1 defeat at the hands of Sweden in a Group F fixture held on Sunday at the Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico. The scale of the loss triggered immediate speculation about Lamouchi's future, though sources informed BBC Sport that he still took training on Monday.

The Tunisian Football Association has since issued a formal confirmation, stating that the Frenchman's contract was terminated by "mutual agreement." The federation also announced that plans are in motion to install Mondher Kebaier as the new national team coach.

A reign that never got going

Lamouchi was appointed in January, taking over from Sami Trabelsi, who departed after Tunisia were eliminated in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations by Mali. In five matches as head coach, Lamouchi managed just one win — a 1-0 result against Haiti in his very first game in charge.

The warning signs were present before the World Cup even began. In their final warm-up fixtures, Tunisia lost 1-0 to Austria and were then routed 5-0 by Belgium, suggesting serious defensive fragility heading into the tournament.

Lamouchi speaks after the defeat

Following Sunday's loss to Sweden, a visibly shaken Lamouchi addressed the media and described the result as "painful."

"Starting the competition with this bad of a loss is indeed difficult. 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."

Those words proved to be among his last as Tunisia head coach. With two Group F matches remaining — against Japan and Netherlands — the Tunisian FA moved quickly to reshape the technical setup before the situation deteriorated further.