Portugal fired national soccer coach Carlos Queiroz on Thursday because of the team's poor play and his six-month suspension before the World Cup for disrupting a doping test.
Queiroz had two years left on his contract and his dismissal was expected. The country's soccer federation said in a statement it made the move "given recent events and after analyzing the national coach's current situation."
The federation will begin looking for a successor, although it offered no clues about candidates. Neither federation officials nor Queiroz was immediately available.
Queiroz has denied wrongdoing regarding his suspension and is appealing the ban. The coach has said he was angry because the unannounced early-morning tests disturbed the players. Queiroz acknowledges using inappropriate language.
In a disappointing showing at the World Cup in South Africa, third-ranked Portugal went out in the second round against eventual champion Spain.
Portugal has just one point from its first two 2012 European Championship qualifiers. A 1-0 loss at Norway on Tuesday came after a 4-4 draw at home against lowly Cyprus last week, constituting Portugal's worst start to a qualifying campaign since 1996.
The team, missing injured Cristiano Ronaldo, looked unsettled and uncertain in both games. With Deco and Simao Sabrosa both recently retired from international soccer, the team lacks an inspirational playmaker.
The 57-year-old Queiroz began coaching Portugal in 2008 and leaves with 15 wins, eight draws and three losses.
Previously, he was Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United for five years. In his three-decade coaching career, he also worked in Major League Soccer, Japan and United Arab Emirates.
