Spain have appointed Fernando Hierro as their manager for the World Cup after a tumultuous morning that saw former coach Julen Lopetegui sacked for taking over at Real Madrid.

Hierro, himself an icon at the Bernabeu, was in the front row of the crowd at a press conference on Wednesday where it was confirmed that Lopetegui would leave just hours before the tournament kicks off.

The 50-year-old will now take his place at the top table for another media briefing at 6.30pm local time (4.30pm BST). He will then hold his first training session on Thursday ahead of Friday's opening clash against Portugal.

Spain have appointed Real Madrid legend Fernando Hierro as their manager for the World Cup

The ex-Spain international has replaced Julen Lopetegui (c) who was sacked on Wednesday

Lopetegui was axed after joining Real Madrid, for whom Hierro played more than 500 games

FERNANDO HIERRO -CAREER FACTFILE Teams played for: Real Valladolid - 1987-89 Real Madrid - 1989-2003 Al Rayyan - 2003-04 Bolton - 2004-05 Teams coached: Real Madrid (assistant) - 2014-15 Oviedo - 2016-17 International career: Spain - 88 caps (1989-2002) Advertisement

Lopetegui was dismissed on Wednesday by Spanish football chiefs who were left furious by his decision to join Real Madrid ahead of the tournament.

The 51-year-old was announced as Zinedine Zidane's replacement on Tuesday evening. He was then out of his current role just hours later, only to be replaced by a man who played 584 matches for Los Blancos.

Hierro enjoyed an 18 year professional career, winning three Champions League winner's medals and five La Liga titles during more than a decade at Madrid.

He began his career at Real Valladolid, where he spent two seasons in the first team before moving to the Spanish capital. Having won it all with Madrid, Hierro opted for a change of scenery in 2003, joining Al Rayann in Qatar.

The 50-year-old won 88 caps for Spain during his own successful playing career

Hierro, who played more than 550 matches for Real Madrid, also had a spell at Bolton

MANAGERIAL MERRY-GO-ROUND A quarter of the countries at the World Cup have now changed their manager with 12 months to go before the tournament. SPAIN Sacked Julen Lopetegui 24 hours before the World Cup after he announced he would join Real Madrid after the tournament. Former Bolton defender Fernando Hierro was appointed as his successor just over 48 hours before their opening game against Portugal. JAPAN Replaced Vahid Halilhodzic in April with technical director Akira Nishino. Japan have struggled in their warm-up games, losing to Ghana and Switzerland before defeating Paraguay on Tuesday. AUSTRALIA Bert van Marwijk took over in January from Ange Postecoglou, who resigned after securing qualification. The current Socceroos boss was in charge of his native Netherlands in 2010, when they lost in the final to Spain. SAUDI ARABIA Sacked Edgardo Bauza in November 2017 just nine days before the World Cup draw — and only two months after replacing current Australia manager, Bert van Marwijk. Juan Antonio Pizzi, who led Chile to glory in the 2016 Copa America, became their new manager. SERBIA Sacked Slavoljub Muslin in October 2017 despite winning their qualifying group. Failure to pick promising midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was cited as one reason for his dismissal. Mladen Krstajic replaced him and has instilled a 4-2-3-1 shape and made Aleksandar Kolarov his new captain. CROATIA Just two days before their crucial final qualifier against Ukraine, Croatia sacked Ante Cacic and brought in Zlatko Dalic. The gamble paid off with Dalic winning that match then steering them through a tricky play-off against Greece. SOUTH KOREA Shin Tae-yong, who coached the South Korean Olympic side in 2016, replaced German coach Uli Sielike. Under Tae-yong the team drew their final two qualification games against Iran and Uzbekistan and secured their place at the tournament. ARGENTINA Jorge Sampaoli took over from Edgardo Bauza in June 2017 with hopes of qualification floundering. Their fortunes didn’t immediately improve and under Sampaoli and the team drew three qualification games in row, meaning it took a Lionel Messi hat-trick in the final group game to ensure their place in Russia. Advertisement

Before retiring in 2005, he enjoyed a short spell in the Premier League with Bolton under Sam Allardyce

Since hanging up his boots the 50-year-old, who moved from director of football to replace Lopetegui, has had only one managerial role. He worked as boss at Oviedo between 2016-2017, having previously been assistant at Real Madrid.

His appointment comes after Spain hastily called a press conference as reports emerged that the head of the Spanish FA, Luis Rubiales, was left outraged by the timing of Lopetegui's announcement.

Following a bizarre morning, during which the Spanish players pleaded with Rubiales to keep Lopetegui in charge, it was decided that the manager's position had become untenable.

During more than a decade at Real Madrid, Hierro won the Champions League three times

Since retiring in 2005, Hierro has held only one senior managerial - at Spanish side Oviedo

'We thank Julen for all he has done because he is one of the great people responsible for us being in Russia, but we are forced to dismiss him,' said Rubiales during Wednesday's press conference.

'I do not feel betrayed, the problem is how things have been done with the total absence of participation of the Spanish Football Federation, that is something we cannot ignore, Lopetegui is an impeccable professional but the process is important.

'The negotiations [between Lopetegui and Real Madrid] have occurred without any information to the Spanish FA and we were informed just five minutes before the press release. There's a way to act that needs to be fulfilled.'