Euro 2016 winner Santos out as Azerbaijan coach after big World Cup qualifying loss to Iceland
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BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Veteran coach Fernando Santos left his job with the Azerbaijan national team on Monday following a 5-0 loss to Iceland in the team’s first qualifying game for next year’s World Cup.
The man who led Portugal to the 2016 European Championship title stepped down after a decision that was mutually agreed, the Azerbaijan soccer federation said.
After Friday’s loss to Iceland, Santos was directly criticized by the federation’s secretary general who said “the head coach did not do his homework.”
“This team and these players did not deserve such management and such a result,” Jahanhir Farajullayev said of Santos in comments reported by the government press agency APA.
Azerbaijan next hosts Ukraine on Tuesday. The coach of the Under-21 team, Aykhan Abbasov, will pick the team for that game, the federation said.
Azerbaijan then plays France on Oct. 10 — Santos’s 71st birthday — in Paris, where Portugal beat the host nation in the Euro 2016 final. Azerbaijan next faces Ukraine in neutral Poland three days later.
Santos has now been ousted from the Poland and Azerbaijan national-team jobs since taking Portugal to the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals. Portugal lost to Morocco and Santos left days later, after more than eight years in charge.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer