Renard takes charge of Tunisia after Lamouchi exit

...The atmosphere was very good – Renard

By Trust Ittai 

 

 

Tunisia have turned to experienced French coach Hervé Renard in a bid to revive their campaign after the dismissal of Sabri Lamouchi, the first managerial casualty of the tournament.

Lamouchi was relieved of his duties following Tunisia's disappointing opening defeat to Sweden, a result he described as "painful." Speaking before his departure, the 54-year-old admitted that "way too many mistakes" contributed to the loss, as Sweden's attackers repeatedly exposed weaknesses in Tunisia's defence.

The Tunisian Football Federation wasted little time in appointing Renard, a highly respected coach with an impressive international résumé. 

The 57-year-old is a two-time Africa Cup of Nations-winning coach and famously guided Saudi Arabia to a stunning victory over eventual champions Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Renard later took charge of France's women's national team for the 2023 Women's World Cup and the Paris Olympics before returning to Saudi Arabia, where he helped the men's national team secure qualification for a third consecutive World Cup.

Arriving from Paris on Tuesday, Renard immediately met with the Tunisia squad and sought to lift spirits after the disappointing start to the tournament.

"The atmosphere was very good," Renard told reporters.

"I just told them we have to hold our heads high, we have to move forward. You're here to represent the country, Tunisia. It's an honour, it's a duty. And we owe it to ourselves to do much better than the result of the first match."

Renard also expressed sympathy for his predecessor, whom he knows personally, insisting Lamouchi had become the scapegoat for the team's poor performance.

"As we say, you can't fire the squad, so the one who takes the blame is the coach," Renard said.

Attention now shifts to Tunisia's crucial Group F encounter against Japan on Sunday. The Japanese opened their campaign with an entertaining 2-2 draw against the Netherlands and are regarded as one of Asia's strongest sides.

Having coached against Japan on several occasions, Renard praised their quality and cohesion but stressed that Tunisia's primary focus must be on improving their own performance.

"I know very well the quality of this team, but at the moment we need to be focused on ourselves," he said.

"We still have a few days to be ready for me to play one more time against Japan."

Renard's immediate challenge will be to restore confidence and organization to a Tunisia side seeking to bounce back from a difficult start and keep their tournament hopes alive.