Doha: The Qatar Football Association sacked Uruguayan coach Jose Daniel Carreno on Thursday, 17 months after naming him to prepare the 2022 World Cup hosts for the 2018 tournament in Russia.
The decision followed back-to-back losses in the qualifiers to Iran and Uzbekistan.
There was no immediate word on who would replace Carreno but fellow Uruguayan Jorge Fossati is considered the front-runner.
Fossati coached the national team in 2007-8 and is currently manager of top flight Qatar Stars League champions Al-Rayyan.
Another candidate is Algerian Djamel Belmadi, who coached the national team in 2014-15, when Qatar won the Gulf championship.
The new coach will face the challenge of preparing for a tough qualifier against South Korea on October 6.
As a player, Carreno spent most of his career at Uruguayan club Montevideo Wanderers. He also played for French club Lens for three seasons.
Before being appointed national coach, he managed Qatari club Al-Arabi and clubs in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Colombia and Chile.
