World Cup purge: Seven coaches gone... for now

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is delivering pleasant surprises... and major disappointments. Several national teams that aspired to reach the top were eliminated prematurely: the Netherlands, Germany and Uruguay among them. The national federations of some of these countries have taken the drastic decision to part ways with the coach who led them to the tournament.

This FIFA World Cup has turned into a veritable guillotine: seven coaches have already lost their jobs following the collapse of their teams’ campaigns.

Sabri Lamouchi (Tunisia)

The first to fall. The crushing defeat suffered against Sweden in their Group F opener forced the sports authorities of Tunisia to dismiss Sabri Lamouchi, appointing Hervé Renard as his replacement, in an effort to get the team back on track before the North African side was mathematically eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Ultimately, the Tunisians were eliminated from the tournament in the group stage, finishing last in their group—behind the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden—and becoming one of six national teams that failed to earn a single point.

Marcelo Bielsa (Uruguay)

The premature and surprising elimination of Uruguay from the 2026 FIFA World Cup led to the firing of Marcelo Bielsa. Added to this was the alleged poor atmosphere in the locker room during the tournament, despite the coach himself denying such a situation. "La Celeste" finished third in Group H, behind Spain and an inferior opponent, Cape Verde.

Bielsa seemed like the perfect leader to turn around Uruguay’s FIFA World Cup fortunes, as the team has failed to reach the knockout stage since Russia 2018.

Steve Clarke (Scotland)

In his case, he left of his own accord. Steve Clarke resigned from his position after Scotland failed to finish ahead of Brazil and Morocco in Group C. That said, he didn’t leave empty-handed: he managed to beat Haiti.

Under his leadership—he had been at the helm of the team since 2019—Scotland returned to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 28 years. It was not to be.

Hong Myung-bo (South Korea)

Just like Clarke. Hong Myung-bo resigned as head coach just one day after South Korea was officially eliminated.

The Asian team finished third in Group A, with no mathematical chance of advancing to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and failing to meet expectations. Co-host Mexico and South Africa were better.

Miroslav Koubek (Czech Republic)

The other national team in Group A, the Czech Republic, also saw its head coach step down. Miroslav Koubek submitted his resignation after failing to defeat their opponents.

Two losses and a draw sealed the fate of the Czechs, bringing their tournament run to an end. The Czech Republic had not played in a FIFA World Cup for two decades.

Ronald Koeman (Netherlands)

One of two coaches who were let go after the knockout stage had already begun. Ronald Koeman stepped down as head coach of the Netherlands after being defeated by Morocco in a penalty shootout in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

A legend as a player and a renowned coach, this was his second stint at the helm of the "Orange." The Netherlands put on an outstanding performance in Group F, finishing in first place with a style of play that inspired dreams.

Sebastián Beccacece (Ecuador)

To date, he is the most recent coach to have been fired. After losing to Mexico in the Round of 16, Sebastián Beccacece and Ecuador decided not to extend his contract, which was set to expire after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Ecuadorians advanced to the next round as the third-place team in Group E, behind Germany and Ivory Coast.