Spain sacked coach Luis Enrique on Thursday after the 2010 champions were dumped out of the World Cup by Morocco at the last-16 stage, quickly naming his replacement as under-21s boss Luis de la Fuente.

Spain started their campaign in Qatar in style by hammering Costa Rica 7-0 and qualified for the knockout phase despite a shock 2-1 defeat to Japan.

They were strong favourites for their last-16 match against Morocco but crashed out on penalties after the game finished goalless following extra-time.

“Both the president, Luis Rubiales, and the sporting director, Jose Francisco Molina, have told the coach their decision,” the RFEF (football association) said in a statement.

They said they wanted to thank Luis Enrique and his staff for their work, but had decided to start a “new project”.

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