Sabri Lamouchi: Sacked Tunisia coach says World Cup exit was revealed by ‘27 missed calls’

Sabri Lamouchi has accused the Tunisian Football Federation of dismissing him during the 2026 World Cup without any direct contact, saying he only discovered he had been sacked after waking up to “27 missed calls” on his phone.

The French coach, speaking publicly for the first time since his abrupt removal, described a “black night” for the Carthage Eagles and condemned the way his departure was handled in the middle of the group stage.

The Tunisian Football Federation announced Lamouchi’s dismissal following a heavy 5-1 defeat by Sweden in the group phase, describing the team’s results at the tournament as disappointing.

But Lamouchi insists he was never officially informed before the news became public.

“I did not receive any official contact from the Tunisian Football Federation to inform me of the decision to dismiss me, but I learned about it via my personal phone,” he said on the “Kampo” podcast.

“I woke up early and found 27 missed calls from my family and friends, it seems that the federation had issued an official statement announcing my departure, that was the beginning of the end.”

‘We will get through this together’

Recounting the hours after the 5-1 loss to Sweden, Lamouchi painted a picture of confusion within the Tunisian camp, saying he continued to go about his duties unaware that his fate had already been sealed elsewhere.

He said he headed to the team’s training session the next day as usual.

“I went to training the next day, some players came up to me and told me that we would get through this stage together,” he explained.

Those words, he suggested, underscored the sense of unity he felt with parts of the squad – and made the manner of his exit more difficult to accept.

The federation had confirmed his dismissal in the middle of the group fixtures, a highly unusual move at a World Cup where coaches are rarely removed before a team’s campaign is mathematically over.

‘No coach can succeed in these conditions’

Lamouchi, a former France international and experienced club coach, summed up his short spell in charge of Tunisia with a pointed assessment of the environment around the national team.

He concluded his remarks with a blunt verdict: “No coach can succeed in these conditions.”

His comments hint at tensions and structural problems behind the scenes, although he did not go into further detail about his relationship with federation officials or any internal disagreements.

Lamouchi’s tenure had raised hopes among some Tunisian supporters that his international pedigree could help the side make a deeper run at the 2026 World Cup. Instead, their campaign unravelled quickly after the heavy loss to Sweden, prompting the federation’s swift and public response.

Federation under scrutiny for handling of sacking

The Tunisian Football Federation has not, in Lamouchi’s account, directly addressed him over the timing or method of his dismissal, and has so far only cited poor results as the reason for its decision.

The episode is likely to raise further questions inside Tunisia about governance of the national team, communication with coaching staff and how high-pressure decisions are made during major tournaments.

For Lamouchi, the saga appears to have closed a brief and turbulent chapter in his coaching career, one he now defines less by the scoreline against Sweden and more by the circumstances that followed it.