The Gabon Football Federation has fired Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte after failing to qualify for the African Cup and being eliminated from World Cup qualifying.
FEGAFOOT said it terminated Duarte's interim contract as national team coach on Sunday, but he would stay with the federation as technical director until April.
Gabon was impressive at home under German coach Gernot Rohr when it co-hosted the 2012 African Cup, reaching the quarterfinals with attacking, exciting football before losing to Mali in a penalty shootout.
Duarte took over after that tournament. Under him, Gabon missed this year's African Cup in South Africa and finished third in its four-team group in World Cup qualifying with just two wins from six games after being sanctioned for fielding a player who wasn't eligible for the country.
