South Africa coach Gordon Igesund was fired Monday for poor results during his two-year contract, the national football association announced in Johannesburg.

The 57-year-old failed to meet mandates to reach the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals and to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Portuguese Carlos Queiroz and Nigerian Stephen Keshi, who will coach Iran and Nigeria respectively at the World Cup, have been linked with the post.

Igesund was a popular choice as a replacement for under-performing Pitso Mosimane in 2011 having guided a record four clubs to the national league title.

But he flopped when South Africa hosted the 2013 Cup of Nations, winning only one of four games and Bafana Bafana (The Boys) bowed to Mali in the quarter-finals.

An away loss to African football lightweights Ethiopia meant South Africa did not even make the African play-offs for five World Cup slots.

As Igesund clung to his job under rising media and public criticism, he need to perform well at the 2014 African Nations Championship for home-based footballers hosted by South Africa.

However, a win over Mozambique was followed by a draw against Mali and a thrashing from bogey team Nigeria, and the hosts were eliminated after the first round.

Brazil hammered the final nail into the coffin last March when they came to Soweto and outclassed Bafana 5-0 in a friendly with Neymar scoring a hat-trick.

Another friendly against top-class opposition provided the highlight of the two-year Igesund reign as South Africa shocked World Cup title-holders and European champions Spain 1-0 in Soweto last year.