The defeat came as a huge disappointment for many Ivorians, for whom the national football team played a central social role and a source of national pride and unity, especially as the country was recovering from the 2002–07 civil war and preparing for its first post-war elections in October that year. As a consequence, Halilhodžić was fired on 27 February 2010, less than four months before the 2010 World Cup finals tournament in South Africa.