In the rarest of events, a team has fired its manager during a World Cup. Tunisia has fired Sabri Lamouchi following the northern African side's 5-1 loss to Sweden to open Group F play Sunday. Lamouchi had only been in charge of the team since January. No replacement has been named, but multiple reports indicate former national team player Wahbi Khazri is under strong consideration to assume the role on an interim basis.
Sweden led 2-1 at the half, at least one of which savable, with keeper Mouhib Chamakh the worst player for the side. There wasn't much Chamakh could do on the three excellent finishes the Swedes produced in the second half.
It was a statistical draw in possession and other match metrics, but the difference was inthe finishing third, where Sweden out-chanced Tunisia, 13-5 and scored on five of their eight shots on frame — Tunisia only had two shots on target all game.
There are reports of a post-match fight among Tunisia players that allegedly precipitated the meeting at which the decision was made to terminate Lamouchi
My take: It wasn't a great game, but Lamouchi wasn't the goalkeeper. He could have made some tactical changes to either increase shots on target or play back to limit the goal differential, but he did neither. From a broader perspective, the team hasn't won in four matches, losing three, so maybe there's something behind the scenes that's been brewing. Still, one would think a change should have been made before the tournament instead of creating even greater turmoil after a bad loss.
THE ASYLUM
Tunisia fires head coach
In the rarest of events, a team has fired its manager during a World Cup. Tunisia has fired Sabri Lamouchi following the northern African side's 5-1 loss to Sweden to open Group F play Sunday. Lamouchi had only been in charge of the team since January. No replacement has been named, but multiple reports indicate former national team player Wahbi Khazri is under strong consideration to assume the role on an interim basis.
Sweden led 2-1 at the half, at least one of which savable, with keeper Mouhib Chamakh the worst player for the side. There wasn't much Chamakh could do on the three excellent finishes the Swedes produced in the second half.
It was a statistical draw in possession and other match metrics, but the difference was inthe finishing third, where Sweden out-chanced Tunisia, 13-5 and scored on five of their eight shots on frame — Tunisia only had two shots on target all game.
There are reports of a post-match fight among Tunisia players that allegedly precipitated the meeting at which the decision was made to terminate Lamouchi
My take: It wasn't a great game, but Lamouchi wasn't the goalkeeper. He could have made some tactical changes to either increase shots on target or play back to limit the goal differential, but he did neither. From a broader perspective, the team hasn't won in four matches, losing three, so maybe there's something behind the scenes that's been brewing. Still, one would think a change should have been made before the tournament instead of creating even greater turmoil after a bad loss.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits!
We’d love to have you!