There is a lot of expectation placed on a country when they qualify for theFIFA World Cup.Especially if during the lead up to the tournament that national team has done well in qualifying or a continental cup competition, or like Belgium who have a deep and impressive squad.
Sometimes despite all the hard work and all the good lead up, nations are unexpectedly knocked out early in the World Cup. In 2002 Argentina was the favorite to win the title and was inexplicably knocked out in the first round.
Here are the current number of head coaches who have been fired or resigned after their World Cup participation. Find out below, watch this game in the US live on FuboTV (7-day free trial) and Peacock (Limited-time offer for 0.99/m).
Coaches who were fired or quit after Qatar 2022
Gerardo Martino was the first official coaching casualty of 2022 as Mexico were eliminated in the first round of the tournament after three lackluster performances. Martino officially resigned after the third match confirming he would not continue after an abysmal round that ended 1-1-1 for Mexico. Martino was the sixth highest paid manager at the World Cup.
Roberto Martínez (Getty Images)
Roberto Martínez of Belgium also announced he would not continue as The Red Devils boss after their disappointing group stage where they finished with a 1-1-1 record. Belgium was seen as heavy favorites and Martínez had been working with them since 2016 where Belgium achieved, being quarterfinalist in the 2016 Euros, 3rd place at the 2018 World Cup, and quarterfinals in the 2020 Euros.
Otto Addo of Ghana,resigned as the head coach after a poor group stage which saw his team go 1W-2L-0D and looking lifeless in a must win game against Uruguay.
Paulo Bento, the Portuguese manager, got South Korea out of a tough group that had Portugal, Uruguay, and Ghana. In the round of 16 his team was dismantled by Brazil 4-1, and after the match resigned.
Luis Enrique was sacked as head coach of Spain after a dismal World Cup which saw Spain defeat Costa Rica 7-0, only to fade as the tournament went on with a 1-1 draw to Germany, a shock defeat to Japan 2-1 and a lifeless match against Morocco in the round of 16 where they were eliminated. Luis Enrique also spent his free team streaming for which he was heavily criticized for back home.
Titeresigned officially as head coach of Brazil after the five time world champions lost on penalty kicks to Croatia in the quarterfinals. Tite’s reign over the yellow and green lasted from 2016 -2022, winning the 2019 Copa America and only losing 6 matches in 90 minutes.
Louis van Gaal also announced that he will not continue as the Netherlands national team coach after the defeat on penalties against Argentina.Van Gaal leaves his position with an undefeated record in World Cup matches, not counting penalty shootouts.
Fernando Santos stepped down as coach of Portugal after 8 years at the helm of the European national team. Portugal were eliminated from Qatar 2022 after losing to Morocco in the quarterfinals.
Other managers in trouble are Félix Sánchez (Qatar), Rob Page (Wales), Kasper Hjulmand (Denmark),Diego Alonso (Uruguay), and Dragan Stojković (Serbia) who all had disappointing tournaments.
Ecuador’s Gustavo Alfaro is out of contract and talks will begin to see if he will continue. John Herdman of Canada is also in talks to stay on the Maple Leafs coach.
