Coaching Curveball: Ivory Coast Fires Manager Despite Impending Round Of 16 Opportunity

The hosts of the 2023 AFCON, Ivory Coast have sacked their head coach, Jean-Louis Gasset though they still have a chance of progressing in the competition…..CONTINUE READING

Ivory Coast are on the verge of crashing out of the 2023 AFCON after beating Guinea-Bissau in their opening game, losing 1-0 to the Super Eagles of Nigeria, and then ending their group stage campaign with a 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea.

Hence, Ivory Coast had to sack coach Gasset two days after the 4-0 defeat which was the country’s heaviest defeat on their home turf in their history.

The defeat also marked the first time an AFCON host suffered two defeats in the group stage of the competition in 40 years, a feat that was last recorded by Ivory Coast in 1984.

Ivory Coast are currently the third-placed teams in the tournament that have a chance of qualifying for the round of 16 as one of the four best losers. But that can only be determined after the end of the group stage campaign on Wednesday night, January 25.

Ahead of that, one of Gasset’s assistant coaches Emerse Fae will be the country’s coach for the time being.

A statement from the Ivorian Football Association explained that the FA “terminated” the contracts of 70-year-old Gasset and his assistant coach Ghislain Printant “due to insufficient results.”

Ivorian FA appointed the French tactician, Gasset, a former Bordeaux coach, in May 2022 to replace fellow countryman Patrice Beaumelle who is currently the coach of an Algerian football club MC Alger.