Spain has stunned the soccer world by firing its manager Julen Lopetegui the day before the 2018 World Cup

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Julen Lopetegui.

• Spain has sacked Julen Lopetegui.
• The decision to fire Lopetegui comes one day before the 2018 FIFA World Cup begins, and two days before Spain takes on Portugal in a huge Group B match.
• This is a breaking news story.
• Read all of Business Insider's World Cup coverage here.

Spain has stunned the soccer world by sacking its manager Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The World Cup kicks off on Thursday when host nation Russia plays Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. As Spain takes on Portugal in a Group B match on Friday, the timing of the decision is shocking.

"We have to decided to fire the national coach," Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales said in a statement, according to The Guardian.

Lopetegui's sacking is wholly because the 51-year-old is set to join Real Madrid in a deal that was made public earlier this week.

Rubiales said: "The Spanish national team is the team of all the Spaniards. We only found out just five minutes before that he was leaving for Madrid.

"There is a way that you must act, Julen has worked in a great way with the team, but we cannot accept how he has acted in this case."

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