Africa Cup of Nations hosts Ivory Coast have taken the decision to fire head coach Jean-Louis Gasset.
The decision came after the 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea – despite their progression to them knockout rounds as one of the four best third-placed teams.
Ivory Coast will face Senegal in the last 16, where the winner will take on one of Mali or Burkina Faso in the quarter-finals.
A statement from the Ivorian Football Federation read: “The contracts of coach Jean-Louis Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Printant are terminated due to insufficient results.
“The Federation Ivoirienne de Football expresses its regrets for the performance of the Elephants during the group phase of the CAN (AFCON) 2023.
“However, it remains convinced of the potential of our football team, and calls for the unity of all for the upcoming events.”
Assistant coach Emerse Fae has taken interim charge of the team while a new coach is found.
Gasset had been in charge of the side since May 2022 but was dismissed as his side suffered back-to-back group defeats, first to Nigeira and then to Equatorial Guinea, having kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 victory Guinea-Bissau.
Speaking after Monday’s defeat, Gasset: “When you have a scenario like that, bordering on a nightmare, there’s not much you can say or do.”