JEDDAH: Saudi national football team head coach Herve Renard is confident his players can qualify for the nation’s seventh World Cup finals since 1994.
Speaking in Jeddah on Tuesday on the eve of their opening match in the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, against Indonesia, he said: “We’re on the right track, technically.
“We had a training camp in Europe during the last break. Tomorrow is a different match and everyone has hopes of qualifying for the World Cup. I’m confident that we’ll give more than 100 percent to reach the World Cup.
“I came here a year ago and the goal was to qualify directly, but that didn’t happen because we needed to improve in several aspects. We have made good progress in our performance since the Gulf Cup, and we must prove that on the field because the truth always appears on the field.”
The Saudis were defeated 2-1 by Oman in the semifinals of the Gulf Cup in December.
“Last January, I decided to change a large number of players; 50 percent of the players who were with us at that time changed,” Renard said.
“We developed, technically, and tomorrow we will see if we have developed enough.”
He revealed that his message to his players ahead of the game was simple: “We will qualify for the World Cup together.”
Indonesia’s coach, Patrick Kluivert, said he was not afraid to face the Green Falcons at home, in front of 60,000 Saudi fans.
“I know it is a crucial game but the Garuda players are ready to make the country proud,” he said.
“We consider this match as a final and we will do everything we can to achieve a positive result. We are confident that we will perform strongly.
“I won’t make any excuses, whatever the reason. Despite the late arrival of some players from Europe, we have no excuses at all. Although the absence of the goalkeeper is significant, we have the right alternative and we will seek to exploit set pieces. We will be a very difficult opponent.”
Asked about a rejected call by Indonesian football authorities for Kuwaiti referee Ahmad Al-Ali to be replaced with a neutral official, over concerns that refs from the region might be biased, Kluivert said: “I am here … to talk about the technical stuff, not anything else. It is not my business.”
Six teams are competing for the two remaining automatic World Cup qualification spots. They are split into two groups, with Iraq joining the Saudis and Indonesia in Group B, and Qatar, the UAE and Oman in Group A. The teams in each group will play each other once, with both group winners booking their places at the 2026 World Cup. The second-place teams will then face off over two legs, with the winner advancing to an inter-confederation play-off.
Coach Herve Renard confident in Saudis’ ability to qualify for a 7th World Cup
https://arab.news/9yj2w
Coach Herve Renard confident in Saudis’ ability to qualify for a 7th World Cup
- ‘We’re on the right track, technically,’ the Frenchman says. ‘We have made good progress in our performance … and we must prove that on the field’
- Indonesia coach Patrick Kluivert unafraid to face the Green Falcons in Jeddah on Wednesday in the 4th round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup
LIV Golf CEO says informal talks with PGA Tour ongoing
- LIV continues to have ‘constructive dialogue’ with OWGR on ranking points
NEW YORK: LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has said informal conversations between the Saudi-funded circuit and the PGA Tour are continuing but any hope of ending the sport’s longest-running soap opera is not currently on the horizon.
O’Neil maintains regular contact with PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, a friend and former business-school classmate, but said their communication has not brought any meaningful progress toward finalizing the framework agreement the two circuits announced in June 2023 before either were in their current role.
“The reality is we continue to have conversations, and Brian and I do have a relationship — we text, we talk relatively regularly,” O’Neil told Reuters during an interview from LIV Golf’s New York office.
“We are not in any serious negotiation at this point. We both believe that there are opportunities to work together, and we both believe that there is plenty of space in golf. We at LIV Golf are intently focused on developing LIV Golf around the world.”
Trump’s involvement
LIV Golf, which held its inaugural event in June 2022, has shaken up the golf world like never before and, with the help of mega-money contracts and lucrative purses, has lured several top names from the PGA Tour into its stable of players.
LIV players include the likes of Bryson DeChambeau — considered golf’s greatest showman — and fellow major champions Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.
After a year of acrimony, the PGA Tour, Europe-based DP World Tour and Saudi backers of LIV Golf announced in June 2023 a framework agreement to house their commercial operations in a new entity but have failed to reach a definitive agreement.
The divide has even captured the attention of US President Donald Trump, an avid golfer who was part of two meetings on the matter at the White House in February when there was optimism that the schism between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour would soon be resolved.
O’Neil said he still felt LIV Golf should “do something” with the PGA Tour but did not elaborate on what any sort of agreement would look like. He also did not give details on when, or if, the two sides plan to meet next, a stance he said he shared with Rolapp.
“We both agreed that we are going to keep all that stuff between the two of us,” said O’Neil. “If there is ever anything to report we’ll report it.”
World ranking points
When it comes to LIV’s ongoing bid for world ranking points, which are considered critical given the majors use them to help determine their fields, O’Neil is hopeful a decision on the matter could happen in the coming weeks.
LIV’s initial bid to have its players earn world ranking points was unanimously rejected by the Official World Golf Ranking in October 2023, with a key concern said to be limited access for players to join a circuit that, barring injury, featured the same players all season.
The OWGR also said at the time that LIV’s 54-hole format was an issue but one that was capable of being managed through an appropriate mathematical formula.
In June, LIV Golf renewed its pursuit of world ranking points by submitting an application with the OWGR, whose governing board includes non-voting Chairman Trevor Immelman, members from all four majors plus members of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Participating Eligible Tours.
LIV has also since announced it will expand its tournament format to 72 holes in 2026.
“We continue to have constructive dialogue,” said O’Neil. “We are hoping to get something done by the turn of the calendar (year) and we are still on that timeline.
“I have a lot of time for Trevor Immelman, a lot of respect for him as a chairman and as a leader. I found him strong, demanding, tough at times, and I think really constructive.”
‘Bullish on the future’
After 11 months as CEO, O’Neil is upbeat about LIV’s future with the circuit on pace to sell out all premium hospitality seating for 2026 — when it will stage 14 events across 10 countries — after what it called a record-setting year in 2025.
“I’ve never had this much fun in a job. I’ve never been this challenged, this exhilarated, this bullish on the future,” said O’Neil.
“When I talk about being bullish on the future I am specifically referring to the stars, so Bryson, Jon Rahm ... and the emerging young talent we have. Seeing what’s actually happening here gives me hope.
“And then the commercial momentum and success has been like nothing I have seen in 30 years in this business.”
