GERMANY have sacked coach Hansi Flick just nine months from hosting Euro 2024 after Saturday’s humiliating 4-1 defeat by Japan, the German FA (DFB) announced on Sunday.
Flick became the first and only Germany head coach to be sacked since the position was created in 1926.
Sporting director Rudi Voeller, who coached the side to a 2002 World Cup final against Brazil, will take over on an interim basis.
German FA boss Bernd Neuendorf said the sacking was “unavoidable” after the team’s recent run of “disappointing” results.
In a statement, Neuendorf said “with a view towards the European championships in our own country, we need a spirit of optimism and confidence”, saying the decision was one of his “most difficult so far.”
Voeller is reportedly unlikely to lead Germany to Euro 2024.
