VENEZUELA sacked coach Fernando Batista on Wednesday night following their World Cup qualification failure and an intervention from the country’s president.
The Argentine coach and his entire backroom staff were dismissed a day after Venezuela’s 6-3 home defeat to Colombia ended their hopes of reaching a first World Cup.
President Nicolas Maduro had called for a “restructuring of the technical staff” following what he described as a painful defeat.
“All of Venezuela demands a restructuring of the technical staff of the Vinotinto, a reorganisation of the strategy, of the doctrine and of the line of combat and hard work,“ Maduro said.
FIFA’s expansion of the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams had raised hopes for Venezuela, the only CONMEBOL federation team never to qualify for a finals tournament.
Their defeat to Colombia allowed Bolivia, who beat five-time champions Brazil 1-0, to claim the intercontinental play-off spot instead.
Peru also sacked their coach Oscar Ibanez after finishing the group stage with just two wins and six goals from 18 matches. – AFP