CARACAS, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Argentine manager Fernando Batista has parted ways with Venezuela's national team after its failure to qualify for next year's FIFA World Cup, the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF) said on Wednesday.

Venezuela ended its qualifying campaign with a 6-3 home defeat to Colombia on Tuesday. The result left it eighth in the 10-team South American group, two points behind Bolivia, which claimed the playoff spot.

"While the effort and commitment shown are recognized, the federation considers it necessary to change course to ensure that the Vinotinto continues to move forward in its process of growth and consolidation," read an FVF statement.

Batista led Venezuela to nine wins, eight draws and 11 losses after taking charge in March 2023.

Venezuela, the only South American team never to have reached the World Cup finals, had occupied the qualification places for much of the campaign before losing its last three matches and dropping out of contention.

"The objective that we had at the beginning was to take Venezuela to the World Cup for the first time and not being able to do that means we have to step aside," Batista said in a social media post.

"We leave knowing that we have given the best account of ourselves. We hope that Venezuela can continue growing because it has great talent and a bright future."

Batista's assistant coaches Leandro Cufre and Jorge Pidal also departed, the FVF said. ■