Peseiro quits as Venezuela coach before World Cup qualifiers

CARACAS (AP) — José Peseiro quit as Venezuela head coach on Friday, just two weeks before the national team resumes South American World Cup qualifying with games against Argentina, Peru and Paraguay.

Venezuelan soccer federation president Jorge Giménez told a news conference he'd received a letter from Peseiro on Thursday asking for the contract to be terminated because of debts owed to him and his staffers.

Giménez didn’t give any financial details related to Peseiro's departure, and also didn't say who will take over as coach for the qualifying matches.

The 61-year-old Peseiro took the Venezuela job in February last year to replace Rafael Dudamel.

Venezuela, which has never qualified for a World Cup, is in ninth place in continental qualifying with four points after six matches.

South America has four direct spots for Qatar 2022. The fifth-place team will go into an inter-continental playoff.

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