Luis Enrique was sacked as Spain coach on Thursday after the team’s elimination in the last-16 at the World Cup with the country’s under21 manager Luis de la Fuente named as his replacement.

Morocco pulled off another upset, beating Spain on penalties after a goalless draw on Tuesday, with the former champions failing to turn their dominance into a victory.

“The RFEF (the Spanish football federation) has chosen Luis de la Fuente as the new (Spain) coach,” a statement read. “The ... RFEF has delivered to the president a report in which it determined that a new project should start for the Spain national team, with the aim of continuing the growth achieved in recent years thanks to the work carried out by Luis Enrique (and the staff).”

The 52-year-old said after the Morocco match that he was to blame for the defeat. First appointed Spain coach in 2018, Enrique had a contract until the end of the year.

He is the fourth manager to get sacked after their teams were eliminated at the World Cup in Qatar.

Uruguay defence

Montevideo: The Uruguayan Football Association has hired Argentinian sport lawyer Ariel Reck after Fifa opened disciplinary proceedings following their World Cup exit.

Fifa launched proceedings against Jose Maria Gimenez, Diego Godin, Fernando Muslera and Edinson Cavani after the players angrily confronted the referee on being knocked out of the World Cup despite beating Ghana in their final group match.

As a result, Fifa opened separate investigations against the four players and the football association. “We told him (Reck) when Fifa notified us and he immediately start to work,” Gaston Tealdi, the association’s vice-president, told Ovacion. Reck has earlier defended Lionel Messi too.

Reuters