Chris Hughton has been fired as Ghana’s head coach after the team’s early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations, and Ivory Coast have sacked Jean-Louis Gasset even though they could yet qualify for the last 16.
The departures of Hughton and Gasset came as Tom Saintfiet quit as the Gambia’s manager and Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi agreed to stand down after his side were eliminated on Tuesday.
Gasset’s departure follows Ivory Coast’s humiliating defeat against Equatorial Guinea, which left the hosts unsure of whether they will go through. The 4-0 defeat on Monday was the heaviest endured by a Cup of Nations host and left the team third in Group A, waiting to see whether they will qualify as one of four best third-placed finishers.
A statement from then country’s football federation said the 70-year-old Gasset was fired for “insufficient results” and would be replaced by Emerse Fae as interim coach.
Ivory Coast will know their fate later on Wednesday when the last group matches are completed, but are dependent on other results going their way after collecting only three points, beating Guinea-Bissau in the opening game but then losing against Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.
Gasset took over in May 2022 and won 10 of 17 matches. The Frenchman had shaken up the team before the finals, leaving out Eric Bailly and Wilfred Zaha for the tournament, where there was a burden of expectation on the hosts.
Hughton’s sacking was little surprise after Cameroon defeated the Gambia 3-2 to ensure that Ghana could no longer progress to the last 16. Ghana missed to chance to secure their progress on Monday when they conceded two late goals to draw with Mozambique 2-2.
The Black Stars ended the group stage with two points from draws with Mozambique and Egypt after an opening defeat by the eventual group winners, Cape Verde.
“Chris Hughton has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the senior national team with immediate effect,” the Ghana Football Association said after the team’s elimination was confirmed. “The executive council has also taken a decision to dissolve the technical team of the Black Stars.”
Belmadi had told his players in the changing room that he would be standing down after Algeria were beaten 1-0 by Mauritania and he has since agreed to terminate his contract, Algerian federation president Walid Sadi said yesterday. “I met the national coach to discuss the consequences of this bitter elimination, and we reached an amicable agreement to break his contract. We thank the coach for everything he has done for the team and we wish him good luck for the rest of his career,” Sadi said.
Belmadi was coach when Algeria won the 2019 Cup of Nations in Egypt but his side have finished bottom of their opening-round group for two successive editions since.
Saintfiet has gone after the Gambia finished bottom with no points in a group also containing Senegal, Cameroon and Guinea.
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