Hervé Renard appointed Tunisia coach for FIFA World Cup

Hervé Renard has been appointed Tunisia's coach at the FIFA World Cup following the sacking of Sabri Lamouchi.

Lamouchi was removed from his position in the wake of Tunisia's humiliating 5-1 defeat to Sweden in its World Cup opener in Monterrey.

The 54-year-old had only been in charge of the national team since January.

Renard is an experienced coach who has won the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia and Côte d'Ivoire in the past.

The Frenchman coached Morocco at the 2018 World Cup and Saudi Arabia in 2022, earning a notable upset win over eventual winner Argentina, and the French national women's team.

His most recent job was another stint with Saudi Arabia's men's team.

It is not the first time Tunisia has made a mid-tournament coaching change at a World Cup.

In 1998, Henryk Kasperczak was fired after group-stage losses to England and Colombia, which ruled the team out of contention for the knockout stages before its closing match against Romania.

Tunisia is making its seventh appearance at the World Cup but has never advanced from the group stage.

Its heavy loss on Monday AEST left the North African nation with a tough task to reach the last 32.

The team's remaining group matches are against Japan on Sunday AEST and the Netherlands on June 26.