Saudi fans have high hopes for French coach Herve Renard, who returned to take over the technical mission 18 months after his departure, in one of the most difficult periods in the history of the “Green Eagles”.
The Saudi Football Association decided to return Renard to his position, succeeding Italian Roberto Mancini, who achieved disastrous results since taking over the mission in August 2023, in addition to changing the positions of some stars and relying on a plan that did not bear fruit.
The Saudi national team reached a disastrous level during the recent period with Mancini until it became an ordinary competitor, not as fierce as in the past, due to the lack of an offensive identity and reliance on a purely defensive method, despite possessing the tools that can make a difference.
A difficult mission
Renard confirmed a few days after taking over the technical leadership of the Saudi national team that “the mission is difficult, but not impossible,” expressing his great confidence in the group of names currently present.
The French coach’s statement comes due to the difficult situation that the Saudi national team is experiencing in the final qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, where it has collected 5 points from the first 4 rounds, tied with Australia and Bahrain, while the “Japanese Samurai” is 10 points away at the top of Group 3.
Renard is expected to make several adjustments to the style of play, including relying on the (4-3-3) or (4-2-3-1) style, which is a completely different tactic than Mancini, who relied on (3-5-2).
In addition to technical and tactical matters, Renard will be required to restore confidence in the existing group, after a difficult period experienced by the “Green” with the previous Italian coach who was far from the players.
The Saudi national team will play its first match with Renard against Australia on Thursday afternoon, at a time when it is suffering from several prominent absences, led by Salem Al-Dawsari, Salman Al-Faraj, and Abdulelah Al-Malki due to injury and Mohammed Kanno due to suspension.
Pink dreams
Renard confirmed the current group’s ability to achieve the dream of qualifying for the World Cup for the second time in a row under his leadership, after leading them to the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The French coach decided, upon his return, to bring back the old guard duo, Yasser Al-Shahrani and Salman Al-Faraj, due to the great experience the duo have and their ability to play under such pressure, before Al-Faraj was injured this morning.
In addition to using some young elements, led by Mohammed Al-Qahtani, the Al-Hilal winger who joined the first team for the first time to compensate for Al-Dawsari, who was recently injured.
The French coach’s confidence is due to his strong personality and previous experience in such situations, as he previously achieved great results with the “Green”, including the historic victory over Argentina (2-1) in the first round of the last World Cup.
If Renard manages to achieve victory over Australia, he will put the Saudi team back on the right track by reaching eight points, before facing Indonesia, the easiest competitor in the group, next Tuesday evening.
The shock of the beginnings
Renard’s dreams and the Saudi fans collide with a painful reality represented by the complex situation that the “Green” are experiencing in the group, in addition to the lack of harmony and the loss of confidence from most of the national team members recently.
Other than that, the “French Fox” suffers from poor results in his opening matches with the various teams he has coached, as he has only achieved two victories compared to 4 defeats in 6 matches.
The beginning was with Zambia in a friendly match against Iran, where he lost (2-3) in 2008, then he was defeated with Angola against Mexico, by one goal to nil, in a friendly match dating back to May 2010.
In November 2011, Renard suffered a defeat in his second term with Zambia during his first match, where he fell in a friendly match against Nigeria, by two goals to nil.
The French coach then succeeded in achieving his first victory in the opening matches, when he led Côte d’Ivoire to a victory over Sierra Leone, by a score of (2-1), in the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
With Morocco, he won his opening match against Cape Verde, 1-0, in the qualifiers for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
He returned to defeats in the opening matches, during his first term with Saudi Arabia, where he lost to Kuwait (1-2), in the first round of the West Asian Championship.
Therefore, Renard’s declining results in his first appearance threaten his dreams of putting the “Green” back on the right track.
