Argentina settles football coach Sampaoli's exit terms

Moscow, July 15 (IANS) The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has settled the terms of exit of their head coach Jorge Sampaoli following the national team's disappointing performance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The AFA will pay Sampaoli $2 million for early termination of his duties instead of the $20 million indicated in his contract which was initially valid until 2020, Sputnik news agency quoted daily sports newspaper Ole as reporting on Sunday.

The 58-year-old specialist took charge of the South American giants in May 2017 with the two-time champions struggling to qualify for the World Cup.

After an underwhelming qualification campaign, Argentina managed to set off to Russia, where the team scraped into the knockout stage with a 2-1 win over Nigeria only to be sent home after losing 3-4 to France.

In June, the media reported that the Argentina players unanimously voted for Sampaoli to be sacked as the team's head coach after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Iceland and thrashed 0-3 by Croatia in their opening World Cup games.