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Ecuador fired head coach Felix Sanchez immediately after their Copa America 2024 defeat to Argentina Thursday night. The quarterfinal loss to the World Cup winners ended La Tri’s tournament run. It was the third time in the last four Copa America competitions that Ecuador reached the knockout round.
Following the defeat, Ecuador’s governing body of the sport, the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF), announced that they were parting ways with Sanchez. “We thank Felix and his coaching staff for their work and professionalism, and wish him success in his future endeavors,” stated the organization.
The Spanish coach was previously hired at the position in March of 2023. Sanchez only lost five of 19 total matches in charge of the team. Following the Argentina game, the coach told reporters that the team was showing progress despite the defeat.
“We managed to advance from the group stage to the knockouts,” claimed Sanchez. “I have congratulated the players even if we weren’t able to progress. I think they deserve the credit, that is my opinion.”
“But I think that in the next edition of this tournament, we’ll get here with a more experienced team. These are very young players. Maybe the results were unfair, but I know that we have to believe in this group of players.”
Ecuador arguably outplayed Argentina for much of the game
The decision to sack the coach is quite controversial. Despite the loss, La Tri played well against arguably the best national team in the world. Statistically speaking, Ecuador went toe-to-toe against the reigning world champions. Sanchez’s side recorded more shots than Lionel Messi’s team, while also essentially splitting the overall possession down the middle.
The hard-fought match on Thursday ended in regulation with the score even at 1-1. Argentina took a slim advantage into the halftime break thanks to a goal from defender Lisandro Martinez. Ecuador, however, fought back with a valiant…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/copa-america/ecuador-fires-manager-despite-solid-copa-america-showing/
Author : Chris Moore
Publish date : 2024-07-05 16:55:08
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