Soccer’s most interesting coach will be on sideline for Tunisia in Kansas City
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tunisia coach Sabri Lamouchi was fired after a 5-1 loss to Sweden on June 14.
- Tunisia lost 4-0 to Japan under Renard, ending their hopes of reaching the knockout round.
- Renard’s Tunisia contract will end after the group match against the Netherlands.
Don’t be surprised if the coach with the untucked white shirt prowling the Tunisia sideline at Thursday night’s World Cup game looks familiar.
Hervé Renard just might be the most interesting coach in soccer, given his success stories, his reputation for turning around teams and, well, his often intense sideline demeanor.
Renard, 57, has an impressive track record that began as a club coach in France. He held that job while also cleaning apartment complexes, as the BBC reported. Renard's first big success came as he coached Zambia to the Africa Cup of Nations victory in 2012, then guided Ivory Coast to the same title in 2015, becoming the first coach to win that tournament with different teams.
At the 2018 World Cup, Renard coached Morocco and caught the attention of fans for his looks, as he was compared to the Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister, from “Game of Thrones” and Prince Charming. Morocco lost a pair of 1-0 games before tying Spain but failed to get out of the group stage.
In 2022, Renard coached Saudi Arabia, which pulled off one of the greatest World Cup upsets by defeating Argentina in group play. He then took over the French women’s team, which won its group at the 2023 World Cup but lost on penalty kicks to Australia in the quarterfinals.
Renard was the first coach in history to win a World Cup match with a woman’s and men’s team. He then went back to Saudi Arabia and helped the men’s team qualify for this year’s World Cup, but he was fired in April.
It appeared that Renard would miss the World Cup, but his phone rang days after the tournament began. It was the Tunisia Football Federation, which had fired coach Sabri Lamouchi following a 5-1 loss to Sweden on June 14. Renard was eager to take that job.
“I was in Senegal watching the games one by one with passion, because the World Cup is an exceptional event,” Renard said, as translated from French. “Today I’m lucky to be here and even if this happiness will be short-lived, you have to live it to the fullest and especially to look for emotions that are currently difficult to find. Yet we still have one last match and if only by being much more solid, by being able to give a good opposition to this team from the Netherlands, that would be a nice reward to finish this competition.”
Renard took control of the team before its group stage match against Japan, and things went south quickly as Tunisia lost 4-0 on Sunday. The man who made a reputation by doing the impossible with African Cup of Nation wins had too little time to find the magic with Tunisia.
It was an embarrassing defeat, Renard said, and it ended Tunisia’s chances of advancing to the knockout round. But he hopes the squad can give the Netherlands a challenge when they play Thursday night at Kansas City Stadium (aka Arrowhead). He talked about Tunisia playing with pride and dignity.
Renard told ESPN his contract with Tunisia will end after that match. But he seemed open to staying with Tunisia, and if that didn’t work out, he believes something will come around. After all, Renard thought he wasn’t going to have a part in this year’s World Cup.
Yet, there he was quietly overseeing a final practice Wednesday at Sporting Park.
“I have always believed in my lucky star,” Renard said, as translated from his native French. “What reason, I have no explanation. Certainly, when you do this job, you experience emotions and dreams. That’s what’s most beautiful about football, and I’ve always believed in it.
This story was originally published June 24, 2026 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Soccer’s most interesting coach will be on sideline for Tunisia in Kansas City."
