Algeria sacked their coach Djamel Belmadi, on Wednesday after the two-time winners crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations, which is ongoing in Côte d’Ivoire.
Host nation, Côte d’Ivoire also parted ways with coach Jean-Louis Gasset.
Belmadi’s tenure ended prematurely after Tuesday’s shock loss to Mauritania in their final group game in Bouaké, the Ivorien second-largest city.
“I met national coach Djamel Belmadi to discuss the implications of this bitter elimination, and we came to an amicable agreement to end our relationship and to terminate his contract”, Algerian football federation president Walid Sadi posted on X.
Algeria won their second AFCON title in Egypt in 2019 but were then sent packing in the group stage at the last edition in Cameroon two years ago with just one point and one goal scored.
This campaign has been equally miserable for Belmadi’s team, who drew their first two matches in Group D against Angola and Burkina Faso but would have qualified for the knockout phase with a point against Mauritania in Bouaké.
Belmadi’s dismissal came on a day when the hosts got rid of Gasset midway through the competition and Ghana fired Chris Hughton after their exit.
“The contracts of coach Jean-Louis Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Printant are terminated due to insufficient results”, the Ivorien Football Federation said in a statement.
The decision comes after the Ivoriens suffered an embarrassing 0-4 thrashing by Equatorial Guinea in their last Group A game on Monday.
The two-time champions need results to go in their favour in Wednesday’s final group matches to reach the knock-out phase as one of the four best third-placed teams.
