KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tunisia coach Hervé Renard is open to the possibility of leading the African nation's program beyond the end of the World Cup.
The 57-year-old Frenchman had been watching the tournament from Senegal when Tunisia abruptly fired its coach, Sabri Lamouchi, following a 5-1 loss to Sweden. With the team in chaos, Renard was asked to lead the Eagles of Carthage the rest of the way, beginning with a 4-0 loss to Japan last week and
concluding with Thursday night's game against the Netherlands.
“I’m open to any discussion. I’m ready to, you know, listen to the project,” Renard said Wednesday, “but this is not what I’m here for.”
The losses to Sweden and Japan mean Tunisia already has been eliminated from the knockout stage. It is the first nation since Greece at the 1994 tournament to lose each of its first two matches by at least four goals.
But even though Renard has only just joined the team, he still feels a sense of pride in competing on the world stage.
“We prepared for the match with Japan as good as possible,” he said. “I'm not used to trying to find excuses, and blame and shame the others. I take these things to myself, and after Japan, I was a bit ashamed, and I was ashamed especially as regards to the Tunisians.
“Let's concentrate on the next game and try to find something difficult to reach.”
The Netherlands and Japan each have four points in Group F, making the match between Tunisia and the Dutch an important one.
“The group is still solid. It's still united,” Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen said of his team. “The only thing we need is to carry ourselves, carry our responsibilities. Everyone needs to be responsible.”
Renard has coached numerous teams across Africa, including Zambia, Angola, Ivory Coast and Morocco. He's also had two stints with Saudi Arabia, helping that nation to qualify for the World Cup before he was fired in April, before the tournament began.
At least for now, Renard's deal with Tunisia ends after Thursday.
“We need to finish this competition as cleanly as possible,” he said. “Football requires pride, even when the situation is difficult, and you need to be, you know, facing these situations with dignity, all the way to the end. And I hope we will maintain this pride and this dignity tomorrow as we play this great team of the Netherlands.”
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
