Otto Pfister was named as Togo coach on the official team sheet for the side's World Cup debut against South Korea yesterday after days of confusion over who would be in charge.
Just hours before the game, a Togo player had told reporters Pfister would not be on the bench and Togolese officials said they were still negotiating with him.
The West Africans kicked off against South Korea at 3pm German time last night.
Pfister, who has spent much of his life globetrotting, coaching eight countries before Togo, quit last week, saying he could not work as a pay dispute between players and officials distracted his team.
Pfister was not immediately available to comment.
Confusion reigned over who would coach Togo just hours before their World Cup debut yesterday when a player, who did not want to be named, said that Pfister would not be in charge for the match against South Korea.
"Otto will not be on the bench. They [the Togolese Football Association] have told him to wait," the playersaid.
He said assistant coach Kodjovi Mawuena was expected to lead the team against South Korea in the opening Group G game and that a pay dispute involving the players which prompted Pfister to walk out last Friday had still not been resolved.
A Togo FA spokesman said they were in a meeting, but did not specify whether it was with Pfister.
Pay dispute
Pfister quit saying he could not work as players and officials were embroiled in a pay dispute which had led the squad to boycott training.
Mawuena was promoted to coach the team against South Korea.
However, Pfister said on Monday he was returning to the squad and would be in the charge for the first match. Appeals from the players had persuaded him to change his mind, he said.
Earlier, Mike Pfister, the coach's son and agent, had told FIFAworldcup.com that Pfister had agreed to rejoin the team as "a matter of the heart."
"The mood is now superb," Attolou said after news broke about Pfister's change of heart in the afternoon.
Partying
"We are partying," Attolou said, adding Pfister was due to arrive on Monday evening from his home in Zurich, Switzerland.
It was unclear whether the dispute over bonuses had finally been settled.
The players, most of whom are with smaller European clubs, have been holding out for 155,000 euros (US$200,000) each to play in the tournament, plus 30,000 euros each per win and 15,000 euros per draw.
The Togo government last Friday sent the equivalent of about US$730,000 in liquid cash through its diplomatic bag to Germany, as part of a deal worth about US$40,000 per player, officials in Togo said Monday.
Togolese Minister for Sport Agouta Ouyenga said players would also receive a check worth about US$10,000 and tried to smooth over fears that these would not be valid. The minister said players would also get US$10,000 per match.
The Togolese federation named assistant coach Mawuena Kodjovi as the interim coach. It held talks on Sunday with another German coach with experience in Africa, Winfried Schaefer. But he insisted that he would only take over if the team sorted itself out.
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