Ivory Coast has parted ways with national coach Jean-Louis Gasset. Afterwards, the team still managed to qualify for the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations.
As the Ivorian Football Association announced on Wednesday, the 70-year-old Frenchman and his entire coaching staff were released. The reason was “insufficient results in accordance with the target contract with the association,” it said. The association appointed former midfielder Emerse Faé as interim coach. The 40-year-old was an Ivorian international, made 45 international appearances and was runner-up in the 2006 African Cup.
Schedule and results arrow on the right
One win, two defeats
Gasset has been Ivory Coast national coach since May 2022. His team won the current home tournament 2-0 in the preliminary round against Guinea-Bissau, but then lost 0-1 against fellow favorites Nigeria and then even 0-4 against Equatorial Guinea. The association expressed its regret about how the group stage went, it said.
The Ivory Coast still progressed as third in Group A. The four best third parties in the six preliminary round groups reached the knockout phase. In addition to Ivory Coast, these include Guinea, Mauritania and Namibia.