Pfister _ a 68-year-old German veteran who has spent most of his career in Africa _ had maintained that it was up to the federation, and not him, to settle the players' grievances.

He took over in March after Nigeria's Stephen Keshi was sacked after Togo crashed out of the African Cup of Nations in January. He has been hailed as a soccer maestro in Togo, but looked glum in Germany.

At practice Thursday, he paced tensely up and down the field, occasionally exchanging a few words with players, oblivious to the cheers of local spectators and the beat of loud West African music.

Journalists have been given few opportunities to meet him. At his most recent press conference Tuesday, he said he was on the whole happy with the performance of the team he has had to scrape together in a rushed talent hunt around Europe. But he looked less than enthusiastic.

Friday's scheduled training session was canceled. Officials said it was so the players could rest. But there were reports that the no-show was part of the players' protest.

A receptionist at the team hotel said she had not seen Pfister on Saturday and had no information on his whereabouts. The hotel and the players are off limits to journalists.

Togo, ranked 61st in the world, is regarded as the outsider in Group G, which includes France, Switzerland and South Korea.

Pfister, the oldest coach at the World Cup, started his career as a player in Switzerland before moving into coaching. He began his love affair with Africa in 1972 with a four-year stint in Rwanda, followed by spells in Burkina Faso and Senegal.

He moved to Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1985 and later coached Ghana to the African Cup of Nations final in 1992. After stints in Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, he moved back to Africa at club soccer level in 1999.

Pfister had hoped that the finals would be the crowning glory of his career, in the country of his birth.