Africa Cup of Nations hosts, Ivory Coast have parted ways with head coach Jean-Louis Gasset despite booking a place in the knockout stage.
The country's football governing body FIF announced the decision to show Gasset the exit after his team's embarrassing 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea.
What happened to the Ivory Coast?
Ivory Coast started their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a 2-0 victory against Guinea-Bissau on January 13, thanks to goals from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso.
But things didn't go according to plan for the host nation as they suffered a 1-0 setback in the hands of the Super Eagles of Nigeria on January 18.
The Elephants then met the beating of their life as they underwent an embarrassing 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea during their last group stage match on January 21.
However, the results left the AFCON host nation in a doubtful position to advance into the knockout stage of the tournament.
This prompted the Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF) to decide to show Coach Jean Louis Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Marie Joseph the exit on Wednesday, January 24.
According to a statement released by the Ivory Coast Football Governing Board (FIF) on Wednesday, they said; "The contracts of the Elephants Coach Jean Louis Gasset and his deputy Ghislain Marie Joseph were terminated for insufficient results by the objective contract which linked them to the FIF".
Gasset was appointed as the head coach of the Elephants in May 2022, replacing Patrice Beaumelle, who had been employed as a replacement for Havre Renard.
The 70-year-old had only suffered just two defeats as Ivory Coast national team manager before the 2023 AFCON kick-off.
Meanwhile, Gasset is not the only head coach to be sacked this week at AFCON. Chris Hughton was dismissed as Ghana boss following their group-stage exit from the tournament.
Algeria's head coach Djamal Belmadi has been sacked due to the country's early exit from the ongoing tournament.
The Gambia have also parted ways with Tom Saintfiet, while Tunisia coach Jalel Kadri has left his post as head coach after the team exited from the 2023 AFCON tournament.
Tunisia failed to win against South Africa in a 0-0 encounter which saw them eliminated with 2 points.
Ivory Coast, on the other hand, prayed for a miracle and it arrived as they advanced to the round of 16 as the final best loser in the tournament, with their three points enough to squeeze the host nation through to the next round.
This comes after Morocco defeated Zambia 1-0 and DR Congo held Tanzania to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday night.
What's next for Ivory Coast?
Ivory Coast will now face Senegal in the Round of 16. Following their advancement in the AFCON, Emerse Fae, one of Gasset’s coaches, will step in as interim coach for the remainder of the tournament.
In addition, it remains to be seen if the host nation will double their efforts to advance to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
The country's football governing body FIF announced the decision to show Gasset the exit after his team's embarrassing 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea.
What happened to the Ivory Coast?
Ivory Coast started their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a 2-0 victory against Guinea-Bissau on January 13, thanks to goals from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso.
But things didn't go according to plan for the host nation as they suffered a 1-0 setback in the hands of the Super Eagles of Nigeria on January 18.
The Elephants then met the beating of their life as they underwent an embarrassing 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea during their last group stage match on January 21.
However, the results left the AFCON host nation in a doubtful position to advance into the knockout stage of the tournament.
This prompted the Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF) to decide to show Coach Jean Louis Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Marie Joseph the exit on Wednesday, January 24.
According to a statement released by the Ivory Coast Football Governing Board (FIF) on Wednesday, they said; "The contracts of the Elephants Coach Jean Louis Gasset and his deputy Ghislain Marie Joseph were terminated for insufficient results by the objective contract which linked them to the FIF".
Gasset was appointed as the head coach of the Elephants in May 2022, replacing Patrice Beaumelle, who had been employed as a replacement for Havre Renard.
The 70-year-old had only suffered just two defeats as Ivory Coast national team manager before the 2023 AFCON kick-off.
Meanwhile, Gasset is not the only head coach to be sacked this week at AFCON. Chris Hughton was dismissed as Ghana boss following their group-stage exit from the tournament.
Algeria's head coach Djamal Belmadi has been sacked due to the country's early exit from the ongoing tournament.
The Gambia have also parted ways with Tom Saintfiet, while Tunisia coach Jalel Kadri has left his post as head coach after the team exited from the 2023 AFCON tournament.
Tunisia failed to win against South Africa in a 0-0 encounter which saw them eliminated with 2 points.
Ivory Coast, on the other hand, prayed for a miracle and it arrived as they advanced to the round of 16 as the final best loser in the tournament, with their three points enough to squeeze the host nation through to the next round.
This comes after Morocco defeated Zambia 1-0 and DR Congo held Tanzania to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday night.
What's next for Ivory Coast?
Ivory Coast will now face Senegal in the Round of 16. Following their advancement in the AFCON, Emerse Fae, one of Gasset’s coaches, will step in as interim coach for the remainder of the tournament.
In addition, it remains to be seen if the host nation will double their efforts to advance to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
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