Japan sacks Halilhodzic 2 months ahead of the World Cup

CAIRO – 9 April 2018: Bosnian manager, Vahid Halilhodzic, has been sacked from his position as Japan national team manager only two months ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The Bosnian manager coached Japan through their World Cup qualifying campaign and he led them to a direct qualification to the World Cup after leading their group.

“Halilhodzic came in and built a team in a very short time and got us to the World Cup, but the games we have played since we qualified to the World Cup have led to this dismissal,” Japan Football Association (JFA) President, Kozo Tashima, told reporters on Monday.

Japan played two friendly games in March against Ukraine and Mali and the Japanese team failed to impress the fans after they lost to Ukraine 2-1 and ended their game against Mali with a 1-1 draw.

JFA announced that Veteran Japanese manager, Akira Nishino, will lead the national team at the World Cup in Russia.

“We only have two months left until the World Cup, so the new manager had to come from within the organization. Nishino has seen the team more than anyone else and he will be our new manager,” Tashima added.

Nishino, who worked as the JFA’s technical director, signed his contract with the JFA on Monday.