Brazil national team coach Menezes fired

Mano Menezes, the head coach of Brazil's national soccer team, has been sacked, Brazil's national football confederation said.

Menezes' dismissal comes as the soccer-crazy nation gears up to host the 2014 World Cup, which it desperately wants to win on its own soil.

Menezes, who took over as coach in 2010, has been criticised for failing to lead Brazil to their first gold medal at this year's London Olympics and for the national team's elimination from the 2011 Copa America championship.

A new coach for five-times world champions Brazil will be named in January, said Andres Sanchez, the confederation's National Teams Director.