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If this trend continues, the current World Cup could become one of the most “turbulent in terms of player turnover” in the history of world soccer.
A loss increasingly spells the end of a coaching career
One of the most scandalous episodes of the tournament was the resignation of Tunisia’s head coach, Sabri Lamouchi. He was fired by the federation right in the middle of the group stage, immediately after a crushing 1–5 defeat to Sweden.
After the group stage concluded, South Korea’s head coach, Hong Myung-bo, was among the first to announce his resignation. The team failed to advance from the group stage, after which the coach stated that he took full responsibility for the poor performance.
“No explanation can make up for the result. All responsibility lies with me,” Hong said as he announced his resignation.
However, the South Korean story went far beyond the realm of sports. The country’s president, Lee Jae-myung, publicly criticized the leadership of the soccer association. He stated that key personnel decisions were made without regard for professional qualifications and instructed the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to investigate the reasons behind the national team’s disastrous performance.
In fact, the failure at the World Cup became a catalyst for a review of the entire system of soccer governance in the country.
The situation in the Netherlands is no less telling. After the national team was eliminated in the round of 16, head coach Ronald Koeman initially stated that he had no intention of stepping down. But literally the very next day, he announced his resignation, taking responsibility for the unsatisfactory result. He also cited personal circumstances and the need to devote more time to his family.
Another high-profile decision was the resignation of Marcelo Bielsa, who left the Uruguayan national team after the team’s run in the tournament came to an end.
The coaches of the Czech Republic and Scotland, Miroslav Koubek and Steve Clarke, also lost their jobs after the group stage. And Ecuador’s head coach, Sebastián Beccasese, followed in the footsteps of Ronald Koeman after losing to Mexico in the Round of 16.
Here’s another example
It is telling that not all soccer-playing nations react to defeat by looking for someone to blame.
Despite Uzbekistan’s elimination, the country’s president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, publicly thanked the players and coaching staff for their performance, noting that the team had qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time in history and had already achieved an outstanding result for national soccer.
This approach stands in stark contrast to the reaction in a number of other countries, where defeat automatically leads to personnel changes and widespread criticism of the coaches.
The Cost of Defeat Is Rising
The reasons for such rapid coaching changes run deeper than the results of individual matches.
The expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams has changed the expectations of fans and soccer federations. Whereas qualifying for the World Cup used to be considered a success for many national teams, reaching the knockout stage is now the bare minimum for most mid-tier teams.
Against this backdrop, coaches are the first to be held accountable for failure.
It is telling, however, that in Germany, following the national team’s elimination, the leadership of the German Football Association, on the contrary, publicly supported Julian Nagelsmann, stating that they retained their confidence in him.
All these resignations suggest that, in today’s climate, national federations are increasingly less likely to view defeat as part of the sporting process, and are instead more likely to perceive it as a managerial failure requiring an immediate response.
At the same time, the World Cup is still underway, which means the list of personnel changes will likely grow as more national teams are eliminated from the tournament.
If this trend continues, the 2026 World Cup will go down in history not only for what happened on the field, but also as the tournament that prompted many national teams to undergo a sweeping leadership shake-up.
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