Former Netherlands international John van't Schip resigned as Greece coach Friday after failing to qualify for next year's World Cup in Qatar.

The 58-year-old former Ajax winger stepped down five weeks before his contract expired on Dec. 31, the Greek soccer federation said in a statement.

Greece has not reached a major tournament since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Van't Schip took over in August 2019 and tried to make a shift to a younger generation of players, but the changes failed to make a major impact.

The national team finished third in its qualifying group for the World Cup in Qatar behind Spain and Sweden after winning just two of eight games.

``We have created a team spirit that players and staff embraced and where we could all focus on our number one priority, the national team and football,'' van't Schip wrote in a post on Instagram, which also revealed disagreements with the federation. ``Our vision of football is different and does not align.''

The federation has not named a replacement and said the selection process ``will not be hurried.''

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