Spanish Coach Felix Sanchez Leaves Ecuador Post After Copa Exit

Ecuador’s Football Federation (FEF) announced their Spanish coach Felix Sanchez was leaving the team, just a few hours after their defeat on penalties to Argentina in their Copa America quarterfinal on Thursday.

Ecuador drew 1-1 with the world champions before falling 4-2 in the shoot-out and being eliminated from the competition.

“The FEF informs that it has today agreed the termination of the contractual relationship with the Technical Director Felix Sanchez Bas has been agreed. We thank Felix and his coaching staff for their work and professionalism, and we wish them success in their future projects,” the federation said.

The 48-year-old worked as a youth coach with Barcelona in his homeland before moving to Qatar where he led the national team to the Asian Cup title in 2019.

He signed a four-year deal with Ecuador in March 2023 and his team lay fifth in South American World Cup qualifying.