Austria coach Didi Constantini has resigned, the Austrian Football Association (OFB) have confirmed.
Constantini was due to leave his post at the end of the year following the country's failure to qualify for Euro 2012, but told OFB president Leo Windtner at a meeting he wanted to step down with immediate effect.
OFB sporting director Willi Ruttensteiner will take charge of the team for the last two qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
Austria saw their hopes of making Euro 2012 disappear when they were hammered 6-2 by Germany and drew 0-0 at home to Turkey earlier this month.
They sit fourth in Group A on eight points from eight games.
Windtner said: ''On behalf of Austrian football I would like to thank Didi Constantini for his efforts. Although we haven't achieved the goals we set out to achieve, he has brought a fresh impetus and developed a lot of young players for the senior team.
''But above all he put all his energy and a lot of heart into his role as head coach.''
Constantini said: ''It was a beautiful time as Austria coach and I am pleased most of all that we were able to spark enthusiasm among the home fans for the national team, which for me will be a highlight of my era. I would especially like to thank my coaching staff and all OFB colleagues.''
