Seoul (AFP) - South Korea axed coach Uli Stielike on Thursday after a shock defeat to Qatar left their World Cup qualification hanging in the balance.

The German, who has been in charge since 2014, paid the price for a poor run of results including qualifying defeats to China and Iran.

Tuesday's 3-2 reverse was South Korea's first loss to Qatar in 32 years and left them in danger of missing direct qualification for Russia 2018.

Lee Yong Soo, chairman of the Korean Football Association, also resigned in a shake-up ahead of South Korea's final two qualifying games.