Algeria has fired coach Djamel Belmadi, a day after the team’s humbling withdrawal from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
Their shocking 1-0 loss to Mauritania on Tuesday landed the 2019 winners at the bottom of Group D.
Algeria was likewise eliminated from the 2021 finals at the group round.
“I met with Djamel, and we reached an amicable agreement to dissolve the association,” Algeria’s football federation president, Walid Sadi, stated.
“We thank Djamel for everything he did for the team and wish him good luck in the rest of his career.”
Sadi noted that their competition ended with “a bitter exit” in a series of posts posted on X.
“We apologise to the fans of the national team and the Algerian people after we worked hard and provided ideal conditions for our players to shine,” he said in a statement.
Belmadi, 47, took over as coach of the Desert Foxes in August 2018 and signed a contract extension a year ago to keep the position until 2026.
Belmadi, born in Paris, captained Algeria in the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations and, as coach, led his team to the Afcon title in Egypt in 2019 after a 35-match unbeaten streak that set an African record.
However, their defence of the championship in Cameroon two years ago was cut short, with the North Africans finishing last in their group after drawing with Sierra Leone and losing to Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast.
Only three months later, Algeria failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, losing in a play-off against Cameroon after conceding a last-gasp goal in the second leg at home to lose on away goals.
However, Belmadi stayed, and Les Verts had the best record of any team in qualifying for the 2023 finals.
However, after drawing with Angola and Burkina Faso, several of their players fled the field in tears following the defeat to Mauritania.
Sadi stated that “a real revolution” will take place to regain Algeria’s standing “continentally and internationally”.
“We promise to correct the mistakes of the past with one goal: to put the train back on track, and to renew the days of brilliance and victories for Algerian football,” he said in a statement.