Ecuador sack SWC coach Rueda

Buenos Aires - Ecuador have sacked Soccer World Cup coach Reinaldo Rueda following the team's failure to progress beyond the group stage in Brazil.

"Professor Reinaldo Rueda will go no further with the national football team," Ecuadorean Football Federation (FEF) president Luis Chiriboga said.

Colombian Rueda, who had also been to the 2010 World Cup finals with Honduras, is being replaced by Ecuadorean Sixto Vizuete on a short contract until January 2015.

"Professor Vizuete will coach the senior team in the (upcoming) friendly matches," Chiriboga told reporters in Quito on Tuesday.

Ecuador will play friendlies against Colombia, the United States, Brazil and either Chile or Bolivia later in the year, the FEF said on its website (www.ecuafiurbol.org).

Rueda's contract ended with Ecuador's elimination at the World Cup when they drew 0-0 with France in their final group match on June 25 but he was open to a new deal.

Ecuador lost their opening match 2-1 to Switzerland before beating Honduras 2-1.

Vizuete, who has worked with the Ecuador juniors teams and coached local first division side El Nacional for the last two years, was in charge of the seniors for a year from November 2008 until their narrowly failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

Rueda took charge of Ecuador, who had reached the 2002 and 2006 World Cup finals, in 2010 when he left the Honduras team.