Ivory Coast sack Gasset before sneaking into last 16, while Ghana axe Hughton
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 sacked JeanLouis Gasset before the host nation later sneaked into the last 16 on the back of the final group results on Wednesday.
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 would 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 would qualify as one of four best thirdplaced finishers.
A statement from the 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.
As it transpired, Zambia’s 1-0 defeat to Morocco on Wednesday evening in
Group F kept Ivory Coast in their home tournament. Morocco’s victory, courtesy of a 37th-minute strike from Hakim Ziyech, sparked celebrations in the Laurent Pokou Stadium from locals who had come to support the North Africans knowing that if Zambia lost their team would qualify.
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 Wilfried Zaha for the tournament.
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 the 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, the Algerian federation president Walid Sadi said.
“I met the national coach to discuss the consequences of this bitter elimination, and we reached an amicable agreement to break his contract,” Sadi said. “We thank the coach for everything he has done for the team and we wish him good luck for the rest of his career.”
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.