World Cup fallout: 14 coaches leave after exits
Shafaq News
Fourteen coaches have left their posts after their national teams were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup, turning the tournament into a major reset point for several federations.
The departures cover 13 teams, with Tunisia accounting for two coaching changes after replacing Sabri Lamouchi during the group stage before Herve Renard also left following elimination.
The wave of changes came during the first 48-team World Cup, staged in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. FIFA says the tournament is the first edition with 48 teams and three host countries, with 12 groups of four feeding into the knockout rounds.
Several of the exits followed high-profile knockout defeats. Croatia’s Zlatko Dalic, 59, left after the round-of-32 loss to Portugal, closing a long tenure that included the 2018 final and the 2022 semi-final.
Mexico’s Javier Aguirre, 67, departed after the co-hosts were knocked out by England in the round of 16, while Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann, 38, left after the former champions lost to Paraguay in the round of 32.
Portugal also moved on from Roberto Martinez, 52, after their round-of-16 defeat to Spain, a result that ended Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup. Ronald Koeman, 63, stepped down after the Netherlands lost to Morocco on penalties in the round of 32.
Ecuador’s Sebastian Beccacece, 46, announced his departure after the 2-0 defeat to Mexico, while Carlos Queiroz, 73, left Ghana following their round-of-32 elimination.
The group stage brought another set of changes. Jamal Sellami, 55, left Jordan after first-round elimination, Marcelo Bielsa, 70, decided to leave Uruguay after the team failed to reach the knockout stage, and Miroslav Koubek, 74, departed Czechia days after their exit.
South Korea’s Hong Myung-bo, 57, resigned after elimination in the first round and public criticism from President Lee Jae-myung, while Scotland’s Steve Clarke, 62, also announced his departure after the group stage.
Tunisia had the tournament’s most turbulent coaching sequence. Lamouchi was dismissed after a 5-1 loss to Sweden in Tunisia’s opening match, with Renard appointed for the remainder of the campaign, though his spell lasted 18 days with Tunisia’s group-stage exit and the team being unable to recover from defeats that left their campaign among the tournament’s most disappointing.
More decisions could follow as the remaining teams move through the quarter-finals, with federations balancing short-term disappointment against the next qualifying cycle.
