KRYNICA, Poland (AFP) — Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker was on Thursday sacked as Poland coach after their failure to reach the 2010 World Cup finals, national football federation chief Grzegorz Lato said.

The 67-year-old former Dutch national coach was axed after the side crashed 3-0 away to Slovenia on Wednesday.
The Slovenia game, which came after a sloppy 1-1 draw at home on Saturday to Northern Ireland, left Poland second-from-bottom of Group Three and mathematically unable to catch up in their two remaining games against leaders Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
""That was Leo Beenhakker's last game as Poland manager,"" Lato told Polish television.
""We have several candidates. It's too early to talk about names. But it will certainly be a Pole.""
Beenhakker became the first foreigner in charge of Poland when he was appointed in July 2006 to shake up the side after their first-round exit from the World Cup in Germany.
The former Real Madrid, Ajax and Feyenoord coach became a national star after steering them to Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria - their debut European championships - but they also fell at the first hurdle there.
His reputation was tarnished for many Poles earlier this year when he became an aide to Dutch side Feyenoord, whom he used to coach, and there was repeated speculation that he was on the way out.