Bangladesh sack Italian coach Fabio Lopez

Dhaka: Bangladesh football chiefs sacked their Italian coach Fabio Lopez on Tuesday after a disastrous three-month stint in charge of the national team, with a 4-0 home defeat to Australia proving the last straw.

“We’ve decided to terminate the contract with the current head coach Fabio Lopez,” Bangladesh Football Federation vice-president Kazi Nabeel Ahmad told reporters, a week after the drubbing at the hands of the Socceroos in a World Cup qualifier.

Lopez, 42, was only appointed in September, taking over from Dutchman Lodewijk de Kruif, but he failed to win any of his matches in charge. As well as the loss in Dhaka against Australia, Lopez also presided over two other defeats in the qualifying rounds for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, against Kyrgyzstan (2-0) and Tajikistan (5-0).