Venezuela have dismissed their head coach, Fernando Batista, and his entire backroom staff following the country’s crushing 6-3 defeat to Colombia, which ended their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Naija News reports that the decision to sack Batista came less than 24 hours after President Nicolás Maduro publicly demanded sweeping changes to the national team’s technical crew.

“Yesterday we suffered a painful defeat. All of Venezuela demands a restructuring of the technical staff of the Vinotinto, a reorganisation of the strategy, of the doctrine and of the line of combat and hard work,” Maduro said in a national address.

The Vinotinto, as Venezuela’s team is known, had been banking on FIFA’s expansion of the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, which gave South America six automatic slots and a seventh through the intercontinental play-offs, to make history as the only CONMEBOL nation yet to feature at the finals.

Instead, Tuesday night’s loss in Caracas handed the playoff spot to Bolivia, who stunned Brazil with a 1-0 win in La Paz. Venezuela finished just outside contention, dashing their hopes of debuting on football’s biggest stage.

The defeat was particularly galling for fans who had watched Batista’s side show promise earlier in the campaign before collapsing in the final stretch.

Meanwhile, Venezuela were not the only South American side to wield the axe.

Peru also announced the sacking of coach Oscar Ibáñez after finishing their qualification campaign with just two wins, six goals scored, and 10 defeats in 18 matches.

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