Hervé Renard resigns as Tunisia's national coach after just two matches

A resignation after 18 days in office

Already at his presentation, Renard had stressed that he was "not a magician." Given the sporting record and the brief tenure, the turnaround was denied him. "It was an honor," was his farewell to the Tunisian public.

Renard looks back on a long career as a national-team coach in Africa. He has already led the teams of Morocco, Angola, Zambia, Ivory Coast, and Tunisia. With Zambia he won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012, and with Ivory Coast in 2015 the continental title as well. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar he was in charge of Saudi Arabia, which famously beat Argentina 2:1 in the opening match.

Renard expects that he will also coach African teams again in the future — because of "the respect shown to me there." In French media, his latest departure from the Tunisian post was commented on with a reference to his special bond with the African continent.

Renard's career between Africa and the world stage

Tunisia was already mathematically eliminated after the second defeat, and the final group match changed nothing in that regard. The elimination amounts to a personnel reset for the Tunisian federation, even before the sporting assessment could be fully analyzed.

The personnel matter is part of a series of surprising twists at this World Cup. Only on Thursday, the heatwave in the eastern United States had affected parts of the celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

During the match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, a storm caused an interruption of about two hours. Temperatures in the city on matchday were around 37 degrees Celsius and are forecast to reach up to 39 degrees. The stadium has no roof and therefore neither air conditioning nor any significant shade.

Heat and storms shape the matchday

The US weather service had urged the public to avoid strenuous activities or to move them to the morning and evening hours. Other matches, especially those with later kickoff times, also suffered under the extreme conditions.

Alongside the Renard personnel matter, a statement by the former Paraguayan national goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert, 60, caused a stir. In a post on platform X, he described Paraguay ahead of the round of 16 against France as a team playing against "an African team": "Christophe, you are right, at the 1998 World Cup we played against France, and now Paraguay is facing an African team." Chilavert was responding to remarks by former French international Christophe Dugarry, who had predicted a "devastating defeat" for Paraguay on RMC.

Outburst involving Chilavert ahead of France's round of 16

The French newspapers L'Équipe and Le Parisien, as well as numerous users on social media, interpreted Chilavert's remark as racist. The background is earlier statements by Chilavert in which, among other things, he had said on the broadcaster Radio Rivadavia that football was "a field reserved exclusively for men," and in which he had also made homophobic and transphobic statements.

Aside from the controversy, Brazil faces its round-of-16 match against Norway on Sunday at 22:00 CEST with a positive personnel update: striker Raphinha, who had suffered a muscle injury in the second group match against Haiti, is available for squad selection according to coach Carlo Ancelotti. "He is not yet fully fit, but he can sit on the bench. If needed, he can play a few minutes and help us in certain situations," said Ancelotti. Lucas Paquetá, by contrast, is out with a muscle injury.

In Morocco's 3:0 win over co-host Canada on Saturday evening, striker Ismael Saibari had to come off injured after 22 minutes. Saibari, a new signing at Bayern Munich and previously under contract with PSV Eindhoven, is Morocco's top scorer at this World Cup with three goals.

Raphinha returns, Paquetá out

Argentina captain Lionel Messi, meanwhile, became the first player in World Cup history to reach the mark of 20 World Cup goals with his strike against Cape Verde. His team, which won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, remains in contention in this tournament.

England coach Thomas Tuchel, 52, is the last remaining German head coach at the World Cup. In total, eleven players from Bundesliga clubs are still involved with their national teams in the World Cup finals.

Germany was already eliminated in the round of 16 against Paraguay. The tournament is regarded as one of the weakest for the DFB in many years, and sporting consequences are being debated back home.

Renard's resignation comes in a phase in which several coaching changes and controversies shape the picture of the World Cup. While the sporting decisions are being made on the pitch, personnel matters, heat problems, and politically charged statements increasingly dominate the headlines off the field.

The coming days are likely to show whether the Tunisian federation will present a successor at short notice or whether the post will initially be filled on an interim basis. Renard himself had repeatedly stressed that he regards Africa as his sporting home and could imagine further engagements on the continent.