Sabri Lamouchi: Fired after World Cup match, no one said goodbye

Sabri Lamouchi, who was at the helm of Tunisia during their 5-1 defeat against Sweden in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup, was sacked immediately after the loss. For the first time, he has spoken about this chapter of his career on Kampo's microphone.

The 2026 World Cup is drawing to a close, but it began with this: after Tunisia's heavy defeat against Sweden (5-1) in the opening match for both teams, Sabri Lamouchi was dismissed from his duties after only six months in charge and five matches — just one of them at the World Cup. For the first time since this affair, Lamouchi revisited his dismissal on Kampo's microphone.

Sabri Lamouchi: Not the Only One Responsible

The defeat was devastating for Tunisia. For Sabri Lamouchi (54), it sealed the end of his tenure on the Tunisian bench. Speaking on the podcast, the former French international (12 caps) revisited this difficult phase of his career. Regularly cited as the sole person responsible for the manita suffered against Sweden, Lamouchi defended himself:

"Those who think Sabri Lamouchi is the only one responsible forget that it's not a matter of one person: the Federation is an institution, and beyond the institution, there is a nation that lives through football. You can't mess around with 'I don't want him to walk or him? I'll do everything to kill him.'"

Through this statement, which sets the tone for his interview with Smaïl Bouabdellah, Lamouchi implicitly targets the leadership of the Tunisian Federation. According to him, "in Tunisia, the pressure is so strong that you have to make the right decisions." And this time, according to the Tunisian federation, the right decision was to part ways with Lamouchi.

"That's the Beginning of the End"

The announcement of Sabri Lamouchi's departure will not go down as one of the smoothest. Lamouchi was likely one of the last within the Tunisian sphere to learn of his dismissal. A post announcing the coach's departure was published on X, before being deleted. Lamouchi, who was sleeping, never saw that post:

"I wake up early and see 27 missed calls from my wife, my friends, etc... because there was a post published and then removed. And that's the beginning of the end."

Officially still in his position, Lamouchi led training as usual. While he had the players' support, the sporting director initially backed him, before informing him that his story was over:

"The sporting director tells me at the end of a training session 'we're all together,' two hours later the president and vice-president tell me we have to stop."

A difficult contract termination for Lamouchi and his family:

"They didn't say goodbye to me [...] It was very hard."

Despite this difficult departure, Lamouchi states that he "holds no grudge against anyone" and "felt that they (the president and vice-president of the federation — editor's note) were very uncomfortable and that they were making a decision reluctantly."

"I Came to Serve My Country"

In the hours following the official and final announcement of his departure, the Tunisian Federation appointed Hervé Renard at the helm of the Eagles of Carthage. Asked about a potential message for his successor, Lamouchi simply wished that "they just give him a little time to work":

"Let's try to just have two years with the same one."

Hervé Renard himself did not last long.