It was confirmed last week that Maradona's contract as Argentina coach was not to be renewed after disagreements with the federation (AFA).

Estudiantes coach Alejandro Sabella was tipped as favourite to succeed the 1986 World Cup winner, but the AFA have reiterated they have no-one in the pipeline.

The new coach will be appointed after the AFA's annual assembly in October and will be in charge of the national team until after the World Cup finals in 2014.

Argentina's next game is a friendly against the Republic of Ireland on August 11 in Dublin, while they also play host to world champions Spain the following month, and current Under-20 boss Sergio Batista has been placed in temporary charge for those fixtures.

Batista guided Argentina's Under-23 side to gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Maradona, whose side suffered a humiliating defeat by Germany in the quarter-finals of the World Cup this summer, met with AFA president Julio Grondona last week to discuss his future and a possible renewal of his contract.

He was told at the meeting the board were only prepared to keep him in if he changed substantial numbers of his backroom team - something the 49-year-old was not prepared to do.