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Can Renard revive Tunisia's World Cup campaign?
Tunisia and their fans will be hoping for some Herve Renard magic after appointing the charismatic Frenchman in an attempt to salvage their 2026 Fifa World Cup campaign.The Carthage Eagles did not waste time in parting company with Sabri Lamouchi after their 5-1 defeat by Sweden on Monday - making them the first ever country to sack a coach after their first game at the finals.The 48-team format means the North Africans still have a chance to progress from Group F, but Renard has little margin for error when he assumes his place in the dugout against Japan on Sunday (04:00 BST).The 57-year-old will join a select group of men to manage different countries at three successive tournaments, having led Morocco in 2018 and Saudi Arabia in 2022, when he masterminded a famous group-stage win over Argentina despite Lionel Messi giving the eventual champions an early lead."[When] the federation contacted me, I didn't hesitate for a second," Renard said after his appointment on Tuesday."It's a challenge that isn't easy, but it's a motivating challenge."But while he is known for the pristine white shirts he wears when prowling the touchline, Renard's career prospects have not always been so bright.Renard's long and varied CV includes spells with clubs in France, England, Vietnam and Algeria, as well as six different national sides.He is the only man to have won the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) with two different teams, leading Zambia to a fairy tale triumph over Ivory Coast in 2012 before guiding the West Africans to the trophy three years later.But his first steps into management came in more humble circumstances.Offered the chance to do some coaching at SC Draguignan in the south-east of France - the final club he played for before retiring aged 29 - Renard also took a job as a cleaner.He would get up in the middle of the night and head to a block of flats to take out the bins, do general cleaning duties until lunchtime, then take training in the afternoon."I woke up at 2:30 in the morning, finished around noon and then left at 5pm for training at Draguignan," Renard told BBC Sport Africa in 2019."We trained and I'd return [home] at around 9pm to eat and then go to bed at 11pm. That was my rhythm of life for eight years."Renard studied for his coaching badges alongside his cleaning job, and he credits that period with putting his life into perspective."It was a physical job and I'm proud of having done it."It's the best schooling I could have had. You have to go through some failures and difficult times but it makes you stronger."Renard got his big break when he was appointed assistant to compatriot Claude le Roy at Shanghai Cosco in 2002, and he later followed the former Cameroon manager to Cambridge United.It was at international level in Africa where he forged his reputation, and Zambian sports journalist Nkweto Tembwe remembers him as a "workaholic" and "master tactician" during his time with the Chipolopolo."Herve is a very, very focused person and knows what he wants," Tembwe told BBC Sport Africa."This is a gentleman that is not scared to get in the deep end and do the work."He does a lot of reading to make sure he keeps up with the trends that are going on. He [studies] opponents like he's studying for an exam."However, Renard was unable to repeat his Afcon success with Morocco - falling in the quarter-finals in 2017 and then the last 16 in 2019.After his first spell with Saudi Arabia, he served as coach of France's women's team and reached the quarter-finals of both the 2023 Women's World Cup and 2024 Olympics.Renard returned as Saudi Arabia boss in October 2024 and guided them to qualification for this year's World Cup, but was then dismissed in April.Renard has often been at the top of the list when African sides are looking to appoint a new manager, but the issue has often been his availability or wage demands.Ivory Coast looked to reappoint him during the 2023 Afcon on home soil, having sacked compatriot Jean-Louis Gasset during the group stage, but the French Football Federation refused to release him from his contract with the women's team.One Nigerian football official later described Renard's financial demands as "practically outrageous" when the Super Eagles attempted to recruit him later in 2024.Tunisia become the fifth African national side Renard has led, having also had a brief stint in charge of Angola in 2010. He also served as assistant to Le Roy with Ghana in 2008.The Frenchman joins Bora Milutinovic (five sides from 1986-2002), Carlos Alberto Parreira (1990-1998) and Guus Hiddink (1998-2006) in managing three different countries at successive World Cups, but he is yet to progress past the group stage at the finals.Tightening up at the back will be Renard's first task, with the thrashing by Sweden following a 5-0 reverse against Belgium in Tunisia's final warm-up match.Lamouchi said his side made "way too many mistakes" in Monterrey and Renard, who is known as a disciplinarian, has told his players they have to "move forward" from that opening defeat."I just told them we have to hold our heads high… you're here to represent the country, Tunisia. It's an honour, it's a duty," he added."We owe it to ourselves to do much better."Tembwe believes Renard's motivational speeches were key to his Afcon success with Zambia."If you listen to Herve's pep talk in the semi-final against Ghana, you realise that Zambia won that match in the dressing room."He described every player there and told the Zambia players what to do [and] especially what not to do. The famous white shirt delivered."Renard came up against Japan in World Cup qualifiers during his stints with Saudi Arabia, and will call on that knowledge as he attempts to guide Tunisia through to the knockout stage for the first time.If he can deliver a place in the last 32, Renard will have another achievement to add to his remarkable coaching CV.
BBC SportFri, 19 Jun 2026
Source: BBC Sport
