Tunisia's Renard 'up for the challenge' after being parachuted into World Cup campaign

[p]"(When) the federation contacted me, I didn't hesitate for a second," he ‌told a press conference on Tuesday after arriving in Monterrey to ‌lead a training session in the evening. "It's a challenge that isn't easy, but ‌it's a motivating challenge."[/p][p]Lamouchi's dismissal marked the first coaching casualty ‌of the tournament. Before his sacking, he told a press conference "way too many mistakes" led to the "painful" loss on Sunday, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/OQyqbHWB/"]Sweden[/a]'s strikers tore [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tunisia/QqZVYk95/"]Tunisia[/a]'s defence to shreds.[/p][p]Fellow ‌Frenchman Renard, twice an Africa Cup of Nations ⁠winner, brings significant coaching experience. ‌He managed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/saudi-arabia/biSY8ox4/"]Saudi Arabia[/a] at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and led them ​to a famous victory over eventual champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a] in the group stage.[/p][p]Renard left to coach the French women's team at ​the World Cup in 2023 and Paris Olympics the following year, before returning to Saudi Arabia and helping the men's side qualify for ⁠a third successive World Cup.[/p][p]The ​57-year-old said he met briefly with the Tunisia squad on Tuesday afternoon, after arriving on a flight from Paris, and added that the atmosphere was "very good."[/p][image alt="Herve Renard speaks to the press" id="ab40c8d8-35fb-4d64-bbe2-07c8b07635fe" credit-line="Daniel Becerril / Reuters" guid="e11bfebc-25b7-4722-bc0f-a201a70f4154" original-width="5886" original-height="3971" /][p][b]"I just told them we have to hold our heads high, ‌we have to move forward... you're here to represent the country, Tunisia. It's an honour, it's a duty. And we owe it to ourselves to do much better than the result of the first match," he told reporters.[/b][/p][p]Renard said he felt for Lamouchi, 54, who he said he knew personally, adding he had paid the price for Tunisia's dismal showing on Sunday.[/p][p][b]"As we say, you can't fire the squad, so the one who takes the blame is the coach."[/b][/p][p]Tunisia's next Group F ‌game will be on Sunday against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/japan/ULXPdOUj/"]Japan[/a], who drew 2-2 with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/netherlands/WYintcWb/"]​Netherlands[/a] in their opener.[/p][p]Renard, who has repeatedly coached against Japan, said ‌he considered them to be the best in Asia and praised the squad's collaborative spirit and ability to play together seamlessly.[/p][p][b]"I know very well the quality of this team, but at the moment we need to be focused on ourselves," he said. "We still have ⁠a few days to be ⁠ready for me to play ‌one more time against Japan."[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/japan-ULXPdOUj/tunisia-QqZVYk95/?mid=SzGJdIdt"]Follow Tunisia's game against Japan with Flashscore.[/a][/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]