Tunisia has parted ways with head coach Sabri Lamouchi following a crushing 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their World Cup opener, according to reports from journalists Romain Molina and Ben Jacobs. The dismissal marks the first coaching change of the 2026 tournament.

The North African nation fell behind early and never recovered in their Group F match Sunday (June 14) night at the Monterrey Stadium in Mexico. Sweden dominated throughout, with Yasin Ayari scoring twice and Alexander Isak also finding the net. Tunisia managed only a single goal from Omar Rekik just before halftime, but Sweden added three more in the second half to complete the rout.

The Tunisian Football Federation moved swiftly to address the disappointing result. According to a statement from the federation, an agreement was reached to dismiss Lamouchi, with plans underway to appoint Mondher Kebaier as interim head coach for the remainder of the tournament. Former international and longtime Ligue 1 professional Wahbi Khazri has also been mentioned as a potential replacement.

Reports suggest the relationship between Lamouchi and the Tunisian Football Federation had been strained even before the World Cup began. The 54-year-old former Nottingham Forest manager had acknowledged after Sunday's match that his team made too many critical errors. "We made way too many mistakes," Lamouchi told reporters following the defeat. "It's a difficult loss. It's painful. Starting the competition with this bad of a loss is indeed difficult."

Lamouchi had pointed to individual defensive mistakes and the team's inability to handle Sweden's attacking threats as primary reasons for the heavy defeat. "With world-class players that we have in the two Swedish forwards, it's something that you don't recover from," he said.

Tunisia faces Japan on Saturday (June 20) in Monterrey before closing out group play against the Netherlands. The team will need to regroup quickly under new leadership if they hope to advance from Group F. Lamouchi had expressed confidence that his players would respond with pride, but he will not be there to guide them through the crucial matches ahead.

The swift dismissal underscores the high stakes and intense pressure facing coaches at football's biggest tournament. Tunisia's football federation clearly felt a change was necessary to salvage their World Cup campaign after such a dispiriting start.

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Mark Simone