UK Edition
Marc Wilmots sacked as Belgium manager after Euro 2016 failure
Belgium have sacked national team coach Marc Wilmots after their highly-fancied team of superstars failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals at Euro 2016.
"The objectives set for the Euros were not achieved. We need a new momentum," said Belgian FA president Francois De Keersmaecker.
A search is now under way for a coach with international experience to take over before a friendly against Spain on Sept 1, ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.
De Keersmaecker thanked Wilmots for his achievements over the past four years and said an understanding had been reached over Wilmots's contract, which had a compensation clause if he was sacked.
The former Schalke midfielder, 47, took Belgium to the quarter-finals of the last World Cup and top of Fifa's world rankings with a team built around Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Manchester City pair Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne.
However, a clueless and disjointed 3-1 defeat to Wales in the Euro 2016 quarters left critics calling for Wilmots's head and Belgian fans wondering what happened to the team that many had hoped would deliver the country's first major trophy.
Meanwhile, former Ukraine international Andriy Shevchenko has been appointed national team head coach, replacing the departing Mykhailo Fomenko.
The 39 year-old, Ukraine's record goal scorer who also played for Dynamo Kiev, AC Milan and Chelsea, was officially presented by federation president Andriy Pavelko at a news conference.