Brazil's decision to fire Coach Mano Menezes has opened a rift in the country's soccer federation (CBF) and left a key director saying he was on the brink of quitting. Andres Sanchez, the CBF's national teams director and a friend of the Menezes, said he was not consulted over Friday's surprise sacking and was likely to abandon ship.

"I haven't been fired or resigned but the likelihood is that I will (resign)," Sanchez said. "The sacking came at a very bad moment. It's not a crisis but it creates insecurity. We are three or four days away from the Confederations Cup draw and we don't have a coach."

Brazil's 2002 World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari, Corinthians coach Tite and Santos coach Muricy Ramalho are considered the favorites to replace Menezes.

Brazil won six of its last eight games, scoring 26 goals in the process. But Menezes failed to lead Brazil to a the gold medal at last summer's Olympics.