Sabri Lamouchi, the former technical director of the Tunisian national team, revealed the details of his dismissal from coaching the team during its participation in the 2026 World Cup tournament.
The Tunisian Football Federation had decided to dismiss Sabri Lamouchi from coaching the first team following the 5-1 defeat to Sweden in the team's first match in the 2026 World Cup, where Frenchman Hervé Renard took charge of the team in the following two matches.
Sabri Lamouchi said in statements reported by the French network Foot Mercato: "I went to bed late and woke up very early to find 27 missed calls from my close ones.. It seems the football federation published a statement and then deleted it".
He added: "I went to training, and some players came to me and said: We started together and we will finish the journey together.. I came to serve my country and pass on my experience and knowledge, and I did everything I could; it's true I didn't succeed, and there's no debate about that, but which coach could succeed in such circumstances and during this short period?".
He continued: "I feel resentful toward some people because no one bid me farewell.. We returned to the hotel, and after two hours the president and vice president informed me of the necessity of ending the mission.. The story is over".
He completed: "They had informed the players 15 minutes earlier of the arrival of the coach who would succeed me, who was already on the plane; at that time I said to myself: Oh my God, they didn't waste any time, everything happened very quickly".
He went on: "After that some doubts started to haunt me, and I wondered: Perhaps after the friendly match against Belgium it was possible that I wouldn't lead the national team in the World Cup from the beginning.. From the start, I didn't feel that I had great support from the federation".
Lamouchi revealed some of the obstacles the team faced during its journey to the World Cup, saying: "We were supposed to head to Brussels, but the air traffic controllers' strike canceled our flight".
Sabri Lamouchi concluded his statements by saying: "We no longer had a hotel, so we had to book the first available hotel.. The players were wandering the streets of Vienna because the hotel was very cramped, and frustration prevailed among the players".
