DUBLIN – Giovanni Trapattoni’s job as Ireland coach was terminated on Wednesday after a five-year run that was increasingly criticized in the past year.

The 1-0 defeat away to Austria on Tuesday, which left Ireland all but mathematically out of qualifying for the World Cup, was the last straw for the Football Association of Ireland.

The federation and Trapattoni said in a joint statement they mutually decided to end a contract that was supposed to run through June. The FAI also cut ties with Trapattoni’s longtime assistants, Marco Tardelli and Franco Rossi, who had worked alongside him in Dublin since 2008.

“We leave this country with emotion because we understand the Irish supporters, who have a well-deserved international reputation and they have our utmost respect,” Trapattoni, 74, said in his statement. He cancelled a planned news conference.

Ireland’s qualification campaign featured a string of dismal setbacks, particularly a 6-1 drubbing at home last October at the hands of Europe Group C favourite Germany. That matched Ireland’s worst-ever home defeat since 1931.

The FAI offered no hint when it would hire a long-term successor. Ireland still has two World Cup qualifiers next month in Germany, where the Irish are expected to be put out of their misery, and at home versus Kazakhstan.

Irish betting company Paddy Power listed former Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill as the prohibitive favourite to succeed Trapattoni. O’Neill, from Northern Ireland, is without a coaching job and has worked with many of Ireland’s players at English and Scottish club level.

Irish fans’ criticism of the often inflexible, long-ball tactics deployed by Trapattoni had been growing since 2012, when Ireland dropped all three of its European Championship group matches in one-sided fashion. He also was slated for eccentric squad selections that failed to promote young talent in favour of lacklustre veterans who stuck from his initial 2008 squads.

Trapattoni often countered by noting — too frankly for some Irish ears — that Ireland’s top players, whether young or old, were mostly run-of-the-mill talents who struggled for regular playing time in their British clubs.

His five-year run in Ireland began amid high hopes, with many Dubliners waving Irish flags adorned with the Italian’s grandfatherly face above the slogan “In Trap we trust.”

Ireland had not qualified for an international tournament since 2002. But Trapattoni guided his squad to the verge of qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa — only to be denied by an egregious, and uncalled, handball by Thierry Henry that produced a decisive extra-time goal for France in its playoff with Ireland. The FAI appealed in vain to FIFA for a slot in South Africa.

Trapattoni received stronger praise for leading Ireland into Euro 2012, its first time in that competition since 1988.

But speculation on his dismissal steadily grew after Ireland lost all three of its group matches in Poland, where the Irish were paired with eventual finalists Spain and Italy. They trounced the Irish 4-0 and 2-0 respectively.

Ireland’s last positive result of note under Trapattoni was a 1-1 friendly draw against England in Wembley Stadium in May.

Trapattoni came to Ireland with a stunning record of winning at club level. He won six Italian titles with Juventus and one with Inter Milan, the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, the Portuguese league with Benfica and the Austrian league with Salzburg.

He also won three UEFA Cups, the Cup Winners’ Cup, the European Super Cup and the European Cup.

But he was less successful as Italy coach.