The technical expert at the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), Abdullah Hassan, confirmed that the main reason for the Saudi team’s exit from the “Gulf 26” tournament held in Kuwait is due to the insufficient time given to the French coach, Hervé Renard, to prepare the “Green” team for the competition. Especially since he recently took over coaching the “Green” club, succeeding the sacked Italian, Roberto Mancini.
Abdullah Hassan told Emirates Al-Youm: “Dispensing with Mancini and contracting with Renard a short period of time ago did not enable the Saudi national team players to adapt to the changes brought about by the French coach, as the Saudi national team lacked harmony and technical stability in the first matches, and its technical level seemed to fluctuate.” He stressed that “changing artistic thought requires a long time for the players to realize and master it, which was absent from the Saudi national team in (Khaleeji). 26), as coach Renard tried a lot, but time did not help him.”
He continued: “The lack of participation of Saudi players in league matches affected their technical and competitive readiness, in addition to public pressure, the nature of the Gulf championship, and media nominations, and this is a sustainable problem that the Saudi team suffers from in the Gulf championships.”
He continued: “The technical staff of the Saudi national team needs, during the next stage, to get rid of the mental pressures that it encountered in (Gulf 26), to strengthen the technical aspects before entering the next stage of the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup.”
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