Soccer-Argentina coach Bauza sacked, says AFA president Tapia

BUENOS AIRES, April 10 (Reuters) - Twice World Cup winners Argentina sacked coach Edgardo Bauza on Monday after a string of poor results in South American qualifying left them struggling to reach the 2018 finals in Russia. "We've reached an agreement, we've told Bauza he's ceased to be the national team coach," the Argentine FA's recently elected president Claudio Tapia told reporters after a meeting at the organisation's Buenos Aires headquarters. Media reports have linked Sevilla's Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli, who has never disguised his ambition to take charge of the national team, with the vacancy after he steered neighbouring Chile to the Copa America title in 2015. Argentina, whose captain Lionel Messi has been banned for four matches for insulting a match official, are fifth in the South American group with four qualifiers remaining. The top four in the 10-nation group go through to the 2018 finals in Russia, while the fifth-placed country qualifies for a playoff against a team from Oceania. (Reporting by Rex Gowar; Editing by Ken Ferris and Nick Mulvenney)