Report: World Cup Manager Brutally Fired After Just One Game

Only a handful of managers have ever been dismissed during the tournament’s storied history.

It hasn’t taken long for the first managerial casualty. | Hector Vivas/FIFA/Getty Images

Tunisia is reported to have parted ways with manager Sabri Lamouchi after its convincing 5–1 defeat to Sweden at the 2026 World Cup.

Despite being just seven places behind Sweden in FIFA’s world rankings, Tunisia were embarrassed as Graham Potter’s side ran out convincing winners through goals from Yasin Ayari (two), Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres and Mattias Svanberg.

“The World Cup is a major competition that does not forgive any team making serious mistakes,” Lamouchi concluded.

Local reports in Tunisia claim a handful of physical altercations broke out in the Tunisian camp in the aftermath of the final whistle, with team officials soon deciding to hold an emergency meeting.

As first revealed by journalist Romain Molina, the decision taken as a result of that meeting was to dismiss Lamouchi, who only took charge of the team in January but has won just one of five games.

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History Repeats Itself for Tunisia

Lamouchi is not the first Tunisia manager to be fired during a World Cup. | Hector Vivas/FIFA/Getty Images

Managers are rarely sacked during World Cup tournaments, but it has happened on a handful of occasions in the past.

Surprisingly, this is not the first time Tunisia has taken drastic action midway through a World Cup. Back in 1998, hopes of an impressive tournament quickly came crashing down with a 2–0 defeat to England and 1–0 defeat to Colombia.

The team, led by Henryk Kasperczak, was mathematically eliminated before the third game took place, and officials were so furious that Kasperczak was dismissed from his post with immediate effect.

That was not even the first managerial change of the 1998 World Cup, as Cha Bum-kun lost his job after just one game, a 5–0 defeat to the Netherlands.

Such changes have been rare in recent years. In 2018, Julen Lopetegui was fired by Spain just two days before the tournament after Real Madrid unveiled him as their new manager after the tournament. Spanish officials claimed to have had no knowledge of Lopetegui’s negotiations with Los Blancos and felt the timing of the move was disrespectful.

With Fernando Hierro in temporary charge, Spain topped its group but won just one of three matches and crashed out to Russia on penalties in the round of 16.

That was a disappointment for Spain, but reaching the knockout stages would be seen as a huge success for Tunisia, who sit bottom of Group F behind Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan after the first round of matches.

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