Herve Renard 'open' to continue coaching Tunisia national team

KANSAS CITY, MO — Tunisia’s final World Cup match might not be Herve Renard’s last day in charge.

Tunisia has dropped its first two matches of the tournament. They were hammered 5-1 by Sweden in the opening game followed by a 4-0 defeat to Japan.

Renard was named Tunisia's head coach following the Sweden defeat less than two weeks ago.

Tunisia is set to face the Netherlands at 8 p.m. local time on Thursday, June 25 in Kansas City. With Tunisia already eliminated from the knockout round, this will be the team’s final match.

Is this Herve Renard’s final game with Tunisia?

“I am open to any discussion,” Renard said about his future. “I am not satisfied at all. I do not put excuses or blame on others. I take it on myself. I was a bit ashamed. Let’s concentrate on the next game and find something difficult to reach.”

It is certainly a difficult match for Tunisia, who are facing a heavily-favorited Dutch team. Tunisa has lost four straight matches including the two World Cup games. Tunisia’s lone goal against Sweden is the squad’s only goal in five straight matches.

Renard has a strong history with African nations. He has managed Zambia, Angola, Ivory Coast, Morocco along with Saudi Arabia. He was also the coach for the French national women’s team from 2023-24.

“I will stay on this continent,” Renard said. “This is my feeling, Africa. The respect of the people for me. Everywhere I go, people are nice and they know what I’ve done before.”

Tunisia hopes to show 'true image' against the Netherlands

A major upset will be needed from Tunisia to get a result against the Netherlands. The Dutch team will be looking for a big win with goal differential being the main tiebreaker with Japan.

Both Japan and the Netherlands are tied with four points. The two nations tied 2-2 in the first match.

“We did not show our true image,” Tunisian goal keeper Aymen Dahmen said. “The image is clear in the football that we play. There are some people that have bad intentions. We are all Tunisians. We all stand for the same thing.”

Liam Keating covers the World Cup in Kansas City for USA TODAY. He also covers high school sports and Washburn University for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at LKeating@gannett.com

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