Luis Enrique was on Thursday, December 8, sacked as Spain’s national team coach, two days after they were eliminated in the round of 16 at the World Cup by Morocco.
Spain lost to Morocco 3-0 in a penalty shootout on Tuesday, December 6, after a scoreless draw in regular and extra time.
Announcing his sack, the Spanish Football Association disclosed that Luis Enrique would be replaced by Luis de la Fuente, who manages Spain’s under-21 team. De la Fuente, 61, led Spain’s under-19 team to a European Championship title in 2015 and the under-21s to the same title in 2019, while also coaching the squad that earned a silver medal in 2018.
A statement from the Spanish Football Association read;
“The RFEF would like to thank Luis Enrique and his entire coaching staff at the helm of the absolute national team in recent years.
”The RFEF has chosen Luis de la Fuente as the new absolute national coach. The sports director, José Francisco Molina, has forwarded a report to the president, Luis Rubiales, in which he recommends the choice of the coach from La Rioja, until now the U-21 coach, to lead the new stage that begins after the World Cup in Qatar. Once his appointment is ratified by the board of directors, Luis de la Fuente would be presented on Monday, December 12 at 12:30 p.m. in the Luis Aragonés room of the Ciudad del Fútbol.”
Luis Enrique, 52, led Spain to the Euro 2020 semifinals and the Nations League championship in 2021, and he recently led La Roja to the last four of the 2023 Nations League.
The Spanish FA had offered him a contract renewal prior to the World Cup, but Luis Enrique delayed making a decision until after the event.
Spain’s next fixture is against Norway in March in qualifying for Euro 2024, which will see De la Fuente step into the dugout for the first time.