January 24, (THEWILL) – The Ivory Coast national football team has parted ways with coach Jean-Louis Gasset after a devastating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament. The heavy defeat was the worst suffered by a host nation in AFCON history and has left the Elephants’ qualification hopes hanging by a thread.
The 70-year-old French tactician had been in charge of the West African country since March 2023, after initially taking charge between May and December the previous year. In that time, he racked up 10 wins in his 17 games before the continental showpiece. However, disappointing Group A performances – a slim opening victory over Guinea-Bissau followed by defeats to Nigeria and minnows Equatorial Guinea – have prompted the Ivorian Football Federation to take action.
Gasset has been relieved of his duties with assistant Emerse Fae taking over as interim manager. An official statement cited “insufficient results” as the reason for the veteran manager’s dismissal. Ivory Coast now face an anxious wait to see if other Matchday 3 results go their way, with the four best third-placed teams progressing to the knockouts.
In his post-match interview, a shell-shocked Gasset described the upsetting defeat as “a nightmare…where everything seems linked.” He conceded having no answers for what went wrong with his troops who entered the tournament with high hopes as hosts. Gasset’s job has thus ended abruptly after less than a year at the helm.
The 70-year-old built his reputation guiding French clubs like Montpellier, Saint Etienne and Bordeaux with notable success. He also served as assistant to Laurent Blanc with the French national team for two years after the 2010 World Cup and had two assistant coaching stints with French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Gasset is the third coach whose job has been negatively impacted at the ongoing AFCON after those of Algeria and Ghana. His departure adds to the host nation’s misery at a tournament where they were expected to shine on home soil.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
