Tunisia team left without a head coach as the football federation stays silent a week after World Cup exit

Tunisia's national football team enters the post-World Cup period without a head coach on Friday 3 July, eight days after the Carthage Eagles were eliminated from the 2026 tournament, with the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) yet to make any public statement on succession.

The vacancy follows one of the most turbulent three-week stretches in Tunisian football history. The FTF announced an agreement on 14 January 2026 with Sabri Lamouchi to coach the national team, on a contract extending until 31 July 2028. Lamouchi was dismissed on 15 June 2026, after just five matches in charge and one at the World Cup, the day after Tunisia's 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening match — making him the first manager in World Cup history to be sacked after just one game.

A tournament to forget

Tunisia lost all three of their group-stage matches: 5-1 to Sweden, 4-0 to Japan, and 3-1 to the Netherlands, finishing bottom of Group F without a point. The Carthage Eagles were the first Arab and African team to exit the 2026 World Cup, and conceded more goals than any other side in the tournament — 12 in total. It is the seventh time Tunisia has participated in a World Cup and the seventh time it has not advanced beyond the group stage.

The result made painful reading against the backdrop of qualification. On 13 October 2025, Tunisia had become the first team in history to qualify for a World Cup without conceding a single goal during the qualification campaign. Before the tournament, Tunisia suffered a 5-0 defeat against Belgium and lost 1-0 to Austria in warm-up matches, and under Lamouchi won only one of five matches overall.

Renard in, then out

On 16 June 2026, Hervé Renard was appointed head coach of Tunisia following the dismissal of Lamouchi. He took over under the existing financial terms, with the FTF stipulating that any discussions on longer-term cooperation based on specific sporting objectives would commence after the World Cup campaign.

The 57-year-old Frenchman arrived with a reputation for unlikely feats in international football, having overseen Zambia's Africa Cup of Nations victory in 2012, Ivory Coast's triumph in 2015, and Saudi Arabia's giant-killing of Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. His first game in charge, on 20 June, was a 4-0 defeat against Japan — Tunisia's elimination was confirmed with that result.

On 22 June, Renard confirmed his intention to step down once the final group-stage match against the Netherlands had concluded. He told ESPN: "I've come for a World Cup mission. I have not signed beyond that."

Federation silent on what comes next

As of Friday morning, the FTF has issued no public statement on the coaching search. FIFA's official FTF organisation page continues to list Renard as national coach with no successor named.

A source cited on Tunisian national public radio said a Tunisian-nationality coach is the preferred option for the next cycle, in the event that negotiations with Renard do not produce an agreement. Algerian media have reported advanced contacts between the Algerian Football Federation and Renard; some outlets have gone as far as claiming a deal has been reached. Neither the Algerian federation nor Renard's representatives have confirmed this.

Mondher Kebaier, who managed Tunisia from 2019 to 2022, holds the post of Technical Director at the FTF and was present with the delegation in North America during the tournament, positioning him as a potential interim option, though the FTF has made no announcement to that effect.

The question of whether to appoint a Tunisian or a foreign coach has long been a source of internal disagreement within the FTF's executive bureau, which itself faced widespread calls to resign following the tournament's results.

Structural questions linger

Tunisia's World Cup exit has raised questions about preparation, squad development, federation leadership and long-term planning that go beyond any individual coach. Changing managers has become a recurring reaction whenever results turn negative, yet this tournament demonstrated that replacing one individual cannot instantly resolve deeper organisational weaknesses.

Separately, FIFA has instructed the FTF to immediately settle a financial obligation owed to former coach Mehdi Nafti, following a binding ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The amount has been set at 142,000 Tunisian dinars, approximately $45,800, after CAS upheld Nafti's claim in a contractual dispute with the federation.

The Africa Cup of Nations qualification cycle for the 2027 edition begins later this year. Tunisia has no confirmed head coach, no announced timeline and — so far — no statement from the body responsible for appointing one.