“Afcon hosts Ivory Coast sacked coach Jean-Louis Gasset after a desultory group-stage performance, but it was later confirmed they had qualified for the last 16. Has a coach ever been sacked during an international tournament before? And if so, what is the best finish for a coach (or caretaker) appointed mid-tournament?” asks Grant Ninnes.
Gasset isn’t the first coach to get his cards in the middle of a tournament, though most of his predecessors were sacked after two group games and with their team in the departure lounge. Two such examples came at the 1998 World Cup. Tunisia got rid of Henryk Kasperczak after the shame of losing against England and Colombia in their first two group games, even though both were reasonably tight. Ali Selmi took over for the last match against Romania’s new blond army, earning an impressive 1-1 draw.
