Can Renard revive Tunisia's World Cup campaign?

Herve Renard has previously had spells in charge of Zambia, Angola, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and France's women

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 GMT).

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."

Zambia beat Senegal, Ghana and Ivory Coast on the way to winning the 2012 Afcon title

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.