Tehran, Jul 12 (IANS): Croatian Dragan Skocic, head coach of the Iranian men's national team, has been fired less than five months before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, official news agency IRNA reported.
The decision comes after a string of poor results and performances that included two losses to South Korea, as well as the friendly 2-1 defeat against the North African side Algeria.
Skocic was named Iran's head coach in February 2020 as a replacement for the Belgian coach Marc Wilmots, Xinhua reports. Under him, Team Melli qualified for Qatar's World Cup on top of its group above South Korea.
News of the Croatian coach's dismissal came after rumours were heard over the past few days that a rift had opened up among Iran's players over his fitness for steering Team Melli in the World Cup.
Team Melli's next coach is speculated to be a domestic one.