FTF president Hamouda Ben Ammar said on their official website that Lemerre put pen-to-paper on a two-year contract extension with an option to prolong it until 2010.

"The FTF is convinced by the work done by Lemerre during his four years at the helm, both of us are happy to continue with each other," Ben Ammar said.

"For the short term our objective is to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup," he added.

The former France coach, who took the post in 2002, guided Tunisia to their first ever African Cup of Nations triumph in 2004 on home soil.

Tunisia are in Group H of the World Cup, along with Spain, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.