Turkey sacked Stefan Kuntz as coach on Sunday following a 4-2 friendly defeat to Japan during the international break, according to reports in Turkey.

The 60-year-old German had been in post since September 2021 and was criticised after his team failed to qualify for the last World Cup in Qatar, after losing to Portugal in the play-off semi-final.

Meanwhile, the Turkish press is reporting that Kuntz is one of the German FA's favourites to replace Hansi Flick, who was dismissed a few days earlier. He is highly regarded internally, having led the German U-21s to two European titles in 2017 and 2021.