Ivory Coast sack coach Jean-Louis Gasset after poor AFCON 2023 display

Ivory Coast finished third in AFCON 2023 Group A

AFCON 2023 host nation Ivory Coast have sacked their coach Jean-Louis Gasset after the team made a poor display in the group stage of the competition.

Ivory Coast lost their last Group A game against Equatorial Guinea by 4-0. This was the biggest home defeat in the history of the nation.

The Elephants still carry faint hopes of progressing to the last 16 as one of the best third-placed teams.

The federation confirmed that Emerse Faé, who played for Reading in the Premier League during his career, will take over for the rest of the tournament should they qualify.

The country’s football federation said it had “terminated the contracts” of 70-year-old Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Printant “due to insufficient results”.

The hosts must now wait on the results of the last group games on Wednesday to see if they sneak through.

Their hopes of progressing despite their shock defeat in Abidjan were boosted when Group B ended with Ghana finishing third in the table on two points.

Trending World Football Articles:

• Top four players with most goals in 2023
• Top six players with most assists in 2023
• Best goals scored in football in 2023: Ranked
• Top 10 best footballers of 2023: Ranked
• Best football matches of 2023: Ranked

Former Bordeaux coach Gasset was appointed by the federation in May 2022, replacing his compatriot Patrice Beaumelle. The Frenchman had shaken up the team before the finals, leaving out Eric Bailly and Wilfred Zaha for the tournament, where there was a burden of expectation on the hosts.

Beaumelle’s contract was not renewed after the Elephants missed out on the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualification and exited the last Nations Cup in Cameroon.

The host nation began their campaign with a 2-0 win. Back-to-back defeats led to a third-place finish. Ivory Coast failed to score in the last two group matches and conceded five goals. They will now hope to qualify for the next round and go further in front of the home supporters.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram.