One FIFA World Cup team decided to fire its head coach after just one game in the tournament.
Algeria dismissed manager Sabri Lamouchi just one day after his side lost 5-1 to Sweden in their World Cup opener. Lamouchi had only been appointed in January, and lasted just five months on the job.
🚨🇹🇳 OFFICIAL: Tunisia head coach Sabri Lamouchi has been sacked after defeat on World Cup opening game against Sweden.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 15, 2026
Plans are under way to appoint Mondher Kebaier as the new national team coach on an interim basis, Federation confirm. pic.twitter.com/WxmlNiAIAv
It is extremely rare for a coach to be fired in the middle of a World Cup, but not completely unprecedented. Three teams did so in 1998, including Tunisia themselves, though that decision came after two group stage games.
Concerns about Lamouchi had clearly existed before the start of the tournament. Algeria lost its final warm-up match 5-0 to Belgium, which turned out to foreshadow Sunday’s ugly defeat against Sweden.
To save their World Cup campaign, Tunisia will have to turn things around against Japan and The Netherlands. Those are seen as the two strongest teams in their group, so this is a tall order.
