Luis Enrique sacked as manager of Spain after World Cup exit

The former Barcelona manager had been in charge of the national side since 2019 - his second spell in charge - and led the side to to the top of Group F at this year's World Cup despite only winning one of their three group games - a 7-0 victory over Costa Rica.

However, the defeat to Morocco on penalties, where none of his takers were able to score was the last straw and a new manager will be tasked with helping Spain to turn around their poor recent form in knockout games at World Cups, where they have not won a knockout game since 2010.

The sporting director, Jose Francisco Molina, presented a report in which he determined that: "a new project should be started for the Spanish national football team, with the aim of continuing with the growth achieved in recent years thanks to the work carried out by Luis Enrique and his collaborators".

Luis Enrique did manage to qualify for two UEFA Nations League Final Fours, out of the three he played as coach; and reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020 with his own stamp and through a defined style.

He placed his faith in young talent and gave hope for the future of the Spanish national team.

Soon after, the RFEF announced that Under-21s manager Luis de la Fuente will take over the managerial post, and is set to be presented on Monday.

Among his many achievements, the coach from La Rioja, who arrived at the RFEF in 2015, has won the European Championship with the U19 team. In 2018, he was gold medallist at the Mediterranean Games with the U18 team.

In July 2018 he was appointed U21 coach and a year later, in 2019, he was crowned European champion in Italy, winning the fifth title for Spain after beating Germany 2-1 in the final.