Tunisia have sacked head coach Sabri Lamouchi following a humiliating 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Sweden in their FIFA World Cup opener in Guadalupe on Monday. The Frenchman, who was only appointed in January this year, was already under heavy fire after a 5-0 thrashing by Belgium in a pre-tournament friendly in Brussels. Former Tunisia captain Wahbi Khazri, who retired from professional football last year, is likely to be named interim manager for the remainder of the World Cup campaign.
Following the loss, Lamouchi expressed his disappointment, describing the defeat as “difficult” and “painful” and admitting that beginning the tournament with such a heavy loss was a difficult setback for his team.
“It’s a difficult loss. It’s painful. Starting the competition with this bad of a loss is indeed difficult,” Lamouchi said as quoted by Reuters.
Sweden midfielder Yasin Ayari, who is half-Tunisian, scored twice in their 5-1 World Cup opening victory against Tunisia. The 22-year-old Brighton player notably chose not to celebrate after he opened the scoring in the 6th minute, raising his hands in an apologetic gesture as a mark of respect towards his father’s native country.
Instead, he raised his hands in apology.
The gesture was a way of paying respect to his heritage.
The 22-year-old Ayari was born in Solna, Sweden, to a Tunisian father, Azzouz Ayari.
Ayari, who represented Sweden at the youth level, was given the chance to switch allegiances and play for Tunisia ahead of the 2022 World Cup, but he declined.
When asked about his son’s choice to represent Sweden, Azzouz Ayari told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet earlier this year that he agreed with the decision.
“No, I wanted him to play for Sweden,” Azzouz Ayari said. “He must feel like he’s giving back to the country that took care of him.”
In the final seconds, Ayari scored a second goal with a long-range shot to the left corner. He celebrated more enthusiastically, sliding on his knees while cupping his ear with his hand toward the Sweden fans behind the goal.
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