Tunisia Turns to 57-Year-Old Hervé Renard After 5-1 Loss, Seeking First World Cup Point vs Japan

Q: Will one goalkeeper change be enough to fix a Tunisian defense that has conceded ten goals in two games?

No. Starting Aymen Dahmen should help, but Tunisia’s defensive problems look too deep to be solved by one change in goal. Dahmen is a credible upgrade. He is more experienced than Mouhib Chamakh, kept clean sheets in all four World Cup qualifiers he started, and was reliable at the 2022 World Cup, conceding only once in three starts. After Chamakh’s costly errors against Sweden, restoring Dahmen gives Tunisia a calmer last line and may steady a shaken back four. But the evidence points to a broader collapse. Tunisia have conceded heavily not just in the Sweden defeat but also in the 5-0 warm-up loss to Belgium. That suggests structural issues in the defensive unit, midfield protection and overall organization, not only poor goalkeeping. The Sweden match exposed mistakes across the team, and the fallout was severe enough for Sabri Lamouchi to be sacked after one World Cup game. Hervé Renard’s real task is larger than a goalkeeper switch. He has had only a few days to work with the squad and has already stressed collective discipline, mental reset and playing as a “united block.” Reports around the team also point to low confidence and camp tension, which a single personnel move cannot fix. Against Japan, Dahmen can reduce the risk of another error-strewn performance. But if Tunisia do improve, it will likely come from Renard tightening the shape, protecting the defense better and restoring belief across the team, not from the goalkeeper change alone.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 20

Hervé Renard will take charge of Tunisia against Japan just four days after replacing Sabri Lamouchi, who was fired following the team’s 5-1 defeat to Sweden.
57-year-old Renard has tried to reset the squad quickly by meeting players individually, with captain Elyes Skhiri saying the new coach has brought a "new mentality" the team must follow.
Japan expects a sharper opponent in Group F, with coach Hajime Moriyasu saying Renard’s passion and ability to draw out players’ strengths could make Tunisia look like "an entire new team."
Tunisia enters the match still chasing its first point of the 2026 World Cup, with Renard hired for the rest of the tournament to rescue its final two group games.