Santiago (Chile), Nov 15 (IANS): Claudio Borghi, coach of Chilean national football team, was fired after his team lost 1-3 to Serbia in an international friendly played in St Gallen, Switzerland.

The bitter loss Wednesday was just the last straw, as the 48-year-old lost his job mainly because of the team's poor performance in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, reports Xinhua.

"The record isn't good after the last four matches we have played and a few minutes ago I met a couple of the federation's directors who asked me to step down," said Borghi, who replaced compatriot Marcelo Bielsa in February last year.

"I have already announced the news to the players. They (the directors) asked me to go, I have been sacked and I have not resigned. This closes a really nice chapter in my life, and I am really proud to have been the coach of Chile," the Argentine added.

Chile has suffered three defeats in a row in the South American zone of 2014 World Cup qualifiers and only rank sixth in the standings with the first four teams to advance to the World Cup finals in Brazil and the fifth team go into a playoff clash with the fifth team from Asia.