Red Flames captain mourns coach’s exit as progress stalls

Red Flames captain Tessa Wullaert expressed disappointment in a statement on Thursday after the Belgian football federation dismissed head coach Elisabet Gunnarsdottir. The decision followed the team's failure to qualify for the upcoming World Cup, a setback confirmed on 22 October 2026. Red Flames Er.

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Gunnarsdottir’s exit came after a rapid decline that began with a swift exit from the European Championship last summer, followed by relegation from the Nations League A‑group and the loss of a World Cup ticket for the next summer. The federation therefore deemed a change unavoidable. With the report of Elisabet Gunnarsdottir at Red Flames, no national coach was allowed to return home.

Wullaert said she had already spoken to the coach on the phone. “I have spoken to her, of course,” she told reporters, adding that “the conversation did not start well, but we ended on a positive note.” She also noted that “Tessa Wullaert got along well with Elisabet Gunnarsdottir.”

Results under scrutiny

She acknowledged the federation’s frustration with the results, noting that the team fell short at crucial moments. “We missed a goal in the Nations League A‑group and were eliminated on penalties on the road to the World Cup,” Wullaert explained.

“In football the margins are tiny and that is why the decision was made,” she said. “If it had been about the group standing, we would certainly have continued with her.”

Wullaert added that the squad had not been given enough time to extract full potential. “There was still a lot of progress possible with this staff,” she asserted. “As a group we now find ourselves in the deep, not knowing where we will land, and we must start rebuilding, just as we did two years ago.”

The federation now has a month and a half to appoint a new coach before December internationals. “We have a window of friendlies, but next year the Nations League returns, and we must rebuild quickly,” Wullaert concluded, emphasising the desire to move from the B‑group back to the A‑group. “We are a group that always wants to move forward and we are certainly open to making the best of a new coach.”