By Fawaz Adebisi
The Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF) has followed the footsteps of Ghana and dismissed coach Jean-Louis Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Printant after a poor showing at the Africa Cup of Nations, which they are hosting.
The FIF said on Wednesday that the pair had not delivered the expected results and were sacked with immediate effect.
The move came after the Elephants suffered a humiliating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in their last Group A game on Monday, their biggest ever home defeat.
Earlier, Ghana had announced the departure of coach Chris Hughton, who failed to guide the Black Stars to the knock-out stage of the tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.
The decision was made on Tuesday, shortly after the team’s exit was confirmed.
The result left the two-time champions in third place with three points, hoping for a favourable outcome in the other groups to qualify for the last 16 as one of the best third-placed teams.
The FIF said that Emerse Fae, a former Ivory Coast player and one of Gasset’s coaches, would take over as interim manager if they progress to the next round.
Gasset, a Frenchman, had been in charge since May 2022, but could not prevent the team from losing two of their three group matches, including a 1-0 defeat by Nigeria.
Their only win was a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in their opener.
The Ivory Coast’s fate now hangs on the results of the final group games in Groups E and F on Wednesday. They need Morocco to beat Zambia and either Mali or Tunisia to win their respective matches to secure a spot in the next round.
