The 2022 World Cup is down to its final eight, which means 24 teams have been sent packing from Qatar—and for some of those, big changes are coming at the top.
Managerial churn is normal during and after a World Cup. National team jobs are cyclical by nature, and even though five of the remaining sides are coached by managers who are in their second cycle (Brazil, France, England, Portugal, Croatia), four-year terms that end at or after a major tournament are par for the course.
Already there have been decisions made on the bench from national teams whose time at the World Cup is over, while other decisions are likely to be imminent. Here’s a rundown of the high-profile ones.
Out
Luis Enrique, Spain
The Spain coach’s fate was sealed Thursday, as he’ll step aside following a disappointing round-of-16 exit on penalty kicks. It’s the third straight major tournament for Spain that ended prematurely on spot-kicks, and since winning it all in 2010, Spain’s World Cup record is an unspectacular 3-3-5, with those three wins coming against Australia, Iran and Costa Rica. The 7–0 thrashing of Los Ticos was spectacular and appeared to be a sign of things to come, but all the possession and passing that followed led to little else. There’s a treasure trove of young talent in Spain’s player pool, and it’ll be on Spanish youth coach Luis de la Fuente, at least for now, to extract the most out of it.
Tata Martino, Mexico
Martino and Mexico’s relationship seemed downright toxic even before the World Cup, and it was no surprise when Martino himself nonchalantly claimed his time leading El Tri was done in the immediate aftermath of their group-stage elimination. Mexico entered the World Cup hoping to snap its streak of seven straight ousters in the round of 16, and it did manage to do that—just now how it had hoped. The “quinto partido” feels a long way off, and the job of replenishing the squad with youth and building toward being 2026 cohost is a big one. Given Mexico’s role in the next World Cup, it’s also one of the more attractive national team openings on the market.
Roberto Martínez, Belgium
Martínez, who took charge from Marc Wilmots in 2016, oversaw the best days of Belgium’s golden generation but exits without a trophy. In the end, the Red Devils appeared as Kevin De Bruyne had described them (even if he was being tongue-in-cheek): too old and ill suited for the top level of the international game. Outplayed by Canada, humbled by Morocco and ousted by Croatia, Belgium’s World Cup performance was arguably the worst compared to expectation. Its run atop the FIFA ranking notwithstanding, Belgium has little to show for its outrageous pipeline of top-level talent. Perhaps things would have been different had Romelu Lukaku not been hurt and lacking match fitness before the World Cup, but such is life. There are still some attractive pieces for the next manager to mold, but Belgium’s days as a pretournament contender seem to be in the rearview.
Paulo Bento, South Korea
It appears that the Koreans’ one-sided exit at the hands of Brazil was a mere formality for the Portuguese coach, who said that his departure after the end of his side’s run in Qatar had previously been determined. He lasted one cycle, getting South Korea out of the group for the first time since 2010—something that was achieved in dramatic fashion, with Hwang Hee-chan’s stoppage-time goal vs. Portugal in the group finale allowing the Asian side to pip Uruguay to second in their group.
Otto Addo, Ghana
The Black Stars capitulated in their attempt to exact full revenge on Uruguay, missing out on the knockout stage (and at the very least dragging La Celeste down with them). Addo had been a temporary solution for Ghana, stepping in after Milovan Rajevac was let go following the Africa Cup of Nations. He won’t have to look hard for other work, given he was continuing in his role for Borussia Dortmund, and he said in his farewell address, “From the day I started I said if we qualified I would resign after the World Cup, even if we are champions.” They are not, but they are looking for a new leader, either way.
Ulmer/Teamfoto/Imago Images
Staying
Hansi Flick, Germany
There are changes being made at the German federation, but men’s national team manager isn’t one of them. Germany revealed Wednesday that Flick would be staying on despite Die Mannschaft’s second straight ouster in the World Cup group stage. Failure in Russia didn’t cost Joachim Löw his job, either. He stayed on through the subsequent Euros before giving way to his successor. With Germany hosting Euro 2024, the pressure will be on Flick to deliver. Anything less than a deep run—perhaps a title, even—would surely spell the end. That’s when his current contract runs through, at the very least.
“We as a team can achieve much more than we showed in Qatar,” Flick said in a statement. “We missed a big opportunity there. We’ll learn our lessons from it.
“We want all of Germany to rally behind the national team again at the 2024 European Championship at home.”
Rob Page, Wales
Page took over for the embattled Ryan Giggs, earned the job permanently and signed a contract through 2026 in September after guiding the Dragons to their first World Cup appearance in 64 years. It didn’t go well, with a last-place finish behind England, the U.S. and Iran the end result, but he’s still expected to stay on for Euro ’24 and a run at a 48-team World Cup in four years.
The Big TBD
Gregg Berhalter, USA
The U.S. manager’s contract is up, meaning it’s up to him and U.S. Soccer to determine next steps. There’s a camp in January with off-FIFA-calendar friendlies already scheduled against Serbia and Colombia. Somebody’s going to need to be leading that. You can rest assured that Berhalter won’t be doing it without a new deal in place, and while there doesn’t have to be a permanent manager installed by the time camp kicks off—an interim or temporary boss could guide the exercise, which will be for domestic-based players—it does seem like a decision on whether Berhalter will return for a second cycle does need to be made by then for all to have a clear vision on the path forward.
U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart issued a statement Wednesday, saying, “As we always do after a major tournament, we are taking time to reflect. We will conduct a full review with everyone involved as we determine our next steps. We look forward to building off the performance in Qatar and preparing for the journey towards 2026.”
